lay an egg

Cultural  

1. To fail, or to have one's efforts fall flat: “Jim tried to tell a few jokes, but each time he forgot the punch line and laid an egg.”

---

lay an egg Idioms  

1. Fail, especially in a public performance; make a humiliating error. For example, Carol really laid an egg last night when she forgot her lines, or, as Variety had it in October 1929: “Wall Street Lays An Egg.” The term originated in the late 1800s in vaudeville and was extended to nontheatrical failures in the early 1900s.

---

Example Sentences

One of these is called a "brood ball," where they lay an egg in each ball, after they have buried it.

From Science Daily • Mar. 1, 2024

If you go out there and lay an egg, no one’s feeling good about that, especially heading into the last week.”

From Seattle Times • Dec. 28, 2022

On Thursday night, the Suns had a chance to send the Mavericks home for the summer, only to lay an egg.

From New York Times • May 13, 2022

The Braves, meanwhile, picked an imperfect time to lay an egg, as they lost this game with their ace Max Fried on the mound and despite having a clear early advantage.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2021

When a dancer attempts to lay an egg, it is called a grand plié.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• enact
• perform
• play
• portray