Easter is just days away and for so many it is all about the eggs. Turns out that a lot of phrases in this wacky English language of ours, and the good folks at\u00a0from Dictionary.com<\/a> decided to explore origin stories behind popular egg-speresions.<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\nPut all your eggs in one basket:<\/strong> This idiomatic expression means “to venture all of something that one possesses in a single enterprise.” It is often used in negative constructions, such as “don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” to caution against the risk of such behavior. English speakers have been using this turn of phrase, if not heeding its wisdom, since the mid-1600s.<\/p>\n

To egg someone on:<\/strong> The verb sense of egg in this case means “to incite or urge; encourage\u201d and has no relation to the eggs we eat for breakfast. It comes from the Old Norse term eggja with a similar verbal meaning. However, if you drop the on in this expression, saying instead “to egg someone,” the henhouse connection is reestablished.<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\nNest egg:<\/strong> The phrase nest egg has been around since the late 1500s. When it entered English, it meant “an egg placed in a nest to induce a hen to continue laying eggs,” although it was often used in figurative contexts to refer to an object used as a decoy or an inducement. Nowadays, it is widely used to mean “money saved and held in reserve for emergencies, retirement, etc.”<\/p>\n

Egg on one\u2019s face:<\/strong> This expression conveys humiliation or embarrassment resulting from having said or done something foolish or unwise. It came into usage in the mid-1900s, and its origins are obscure. One theory is that it evolved out of teenage slang, and that it referenced a messy manner of eating that might leave food around one’s mouth.<\/p>\n

See more egg-spressions that they researched in a slide show that you can see here, including explaining what’s behind the term “egghead” and “teach your grandmother to suck eggs.”<\/p>\n

May your weekend be full of your favorite kinds of eggs and your favorite people, too!<\/p>\n

You may also like: <\/strong>Easter egg fun facts<\/a><\/p>\n

Prior post: <\/strong>Staying Kind Even #WhenImHungry<\/a><\/p>\n

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