Lost the bottom line of morality

[GoodTaste]

As I read "...coughing in the faces of two female customers of the restaurant and saying he hoped they get COVID-19", I thought, "Some people in the United States, exactly like those in China, have lost the bottom line of morality. Such behavior is evil."

The linguistic question here is whether "lost the bottom line of morality" is proper and natural in English. Google does show "the bottom line of morality" is in active use. But I am not sure when collocated with "lost".

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PLYMOUTH, Mass. – Police have arrested a 59-year-old man on threatening and assault charges after a disturbance over wearing face masks at a Massachusetts restaurant.


Edward McGuire turned himself in to police Tuesday, the day after the incident.


McGuire is accused of coughing in the faces of two female customers of the restaurant and saying he hoped they get COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. He also is accused of driving dangerously in the restaurant parking lot, threatening the safety of people dining outdoors.

Source: USAToday July 4, 2020
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...achusetts-man-who-coughed-2-women/5378312002/

 

[GoesStation]

The context makes your intended meaning clear, but the phrase means little to me on its own.

 

[GoodTaste]

How about "break the bottom line of morality"?

 

[GoesStation]

How about "break the bottom line of morality"?

The bottom line is the last line of a financial statement. What does that have to do with morality? Don't use the phrase you're thinking about. It doesn't work.

 

[GoodTaste]

The bottom line is the last line of a financial statement. What does that have to do with morality? Don't use the phrase you're thinking about. It doesn't work.

OK. That is exactly the linguistic question that the OP wanted to solve.

If one broke the basic moral principle, how to express it in English?


PS. 1) "Lose/break the bottom line of morality" is my translation from Chinese.
2) If "bottom line" was about finance, how do you explain such usages:

[h=2]Bottom-Line Morality | Christianity Today[/h]
[h=2]The Bottom Line of Morality. - Free Online Library[/h]
[h=2]The bottom line of morality: free or not | Libervis.com[/h]

 

[GoesStation]

The three examples all use "bottom line" metaphorically after placing it in context. You can do the same, if you're willing to establish the context. The metaphor doesn't work in the quoted text, where "bottom line" would be a substitute for "limit".

Someone who violates common norms of morality can be said to have committed an outrage.

 

[GoodTaste]

How about morally trespassing?

 

[tedmc]

The bottom line is the last line of a financial statement. What does that have to do with morality? Don't use the phrase you're thinking about. It doesn't work.

"Bottom line" is not just about financial statement.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/bottom-line
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/bottom-line

I think"lost the bottom line of morality" means "lost the most basic of morality or ethics", so a person is totally immoral.