Good riddance to bad rubbish

Origin of: Good riddance to bad rubbish

Good riddance to bad rubbish

This expression is usually used when one has got rid of a tiresome problem or person. Shakespeare is credited with coining good riddance in Troilus and Cressida (1606) Act II, Scene I, after Thersites leaves, Patroclus says, “A good riddance.” The bad rubbish bit was only added in the late 18th/early 19th century.