piece of work

First use appears c. 1473. The idiomatic second sense came about due to Hamlet’s monologue. See cite from sense 1 below.

• "Ugh! She's a piece of work. "A rotten, bad piece, I'd call it," answered Wheedles under his breath."
• "She built a reputation as a piece of work; if she didn't like a crowd, sometimes she'd walk off stage in midset and call a cab home."
• "Known as Pixie for his fresh looks, and Dr Death for his cold stare of disapproval, Rudd was said to have few friends in Canberra. Former Labor leaders Paul Keating and Mark Latham described him, respectively, as "a menace" and "a terrible piece of work"."

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