egg on

Idioms  

1. Incite, urge ahead, provoke, as in Jack is always egging me on to drive faster, or Seemingly quiet, Margo actually eggs on Donald to quarrel with his staff. This expression has nothing to do with hen's eggs but comes from an Old Norse word, eggja, “to edge.” Both edge on and egg on were used interchangeably, but today the latter is preferred. [c. 1200]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

egg on

Jackie laid an egg on Tuesday afternoon, offering new hope for babies this year after a previous clutch was eaten by ravens.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026

The retired farmer had queued up on November 29 at a launch of Bardella's new book in the southern town of Moissac, squashing an egg on his head when he reached him.

From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026

Whip up pappa al pomodoro and slide a poached egg on top like a wink.

From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2025

Executives at UnitedHealth Group had egg on their faces on Tuesday morning.

From Slate ● May 14, 2025

She showed no reaction to the announcement that they were going to see Muriel, and she had laid an egg on Kendra’s bed during the night.

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull