Searched wiktionary but seems none of the explanations in it makes sense.
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en.wiktionary.org/wiki/breaking_bad– RegDwigнtCommented Aug 28, 2013 at 10:12
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Don’t feel bad: I had no idea what it meant either, and I’m a native speaker. I’m just not hip to “Suthun” slang. A more widely used synonym would appear to be “going bad” used with reference to a person who became a black sheep, not to spoiled milk. :)– tchrist ♦Commented Aug 28, 2013 at 12:29
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2 Answers
You'll want to look up the term break bad:
(colloquial, southern US) to go wrong, of people or events, including to turn toward a life of crime or immoral activity
The title of the series is a play on the phrase.
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1Thanks, I think that makes sense since it's happening in the southern US! Commented Aug 28, 2013 at 8:31
break : (copulative, informal) To suddenly become.
Things began breaking bad for him when his parents died.
The arrest was standard, when suddenly the suspect broke ugly.
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+1, but it's interesting that this comes from Wiktionary, which the OP has already looked at...– Andrew Leach ♦Commented Aug 28, 2013 at 7:49
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It's also interesting that Wiktionary has this sense defined under the lemma 'break' and a separate MWV entry for 'break bad' (Amory's link). Commented Aug 28, 2013 at 8:33
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@EdwinAshworth Wiktionary's goal (which it is far, far from) is truly massive. Definitions, etymology, pronunciation, and synonyms for every word and phrase from every language on Earth.– AmoryCommented Aug 28, 2013 at 14:16