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

Bardella was at an event in Moissac, southwest France, to promote his latest book when a man broke the egg on his head.

From Barron's • Nov. 29, 2025

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

But if you want to risk the nest egg on something, here’s a safe bet:

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 1, 2024

She had a smear of breakfast egg on her chin and the blurry eyes of someone who has just stopped crying.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez