Examples of a range of more advanced, more formal, or more descriptive words and phrases that you can use as an alternative for "bad"

Never at a Loss for Words

Episode 3 - synonyms for "bad"

The Fox and the Crow is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 124 in the Perry Index. There are early Latin and Greek versions and the fable may even have been portrayed on an ancient Greek vase.[1] The story is used as a warning against listening to flattery.

In the fable a crow has found a piece of cheese and retired to a branch to eat it. A fox, wanting it for himself, flatters the crow, calling it beautiful and wondering whether its voice is as sweet to match. When it lets out a caw, the cheese falls and is devoured by the fox.

source: wikipedia.com 