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]

---

Example Sentences

Their first chick emerged from its egg on Friday at 15:10 BST.

From BBC • May 23, 2026

Enter my dummy-simple version: I start the rice cooker before taking my dog, Otto out, and when I return, I spoon a bit into a small bowl and slide a quick over-easy egg on top.

From Salon • Jan. 29, 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

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

From Slate • May 14, 2025

Its oven was wonderful and you could fry an egg on its shiny black lids.

From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck