{"id":9928,"date":"2022-10-06T19:15:10","date_gmt":"2022-10-06T19:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=9928"},"modified":"2022-10-06T19:15:10","modified_gmt":"2022-10-06T19:15:10","slug":"good-egg-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/good-egg-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Good Egg \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you looking for a slightly quaint, archaic, way to tell someone that they\u2019re a nice person, someone who can be relied on? You could call them a \u201cgood egg<\/strong>\u201d. Learn more about this phrase, its meaning, and its origin in this post.<\/p>\n

Meaning<\/h2>\n

The phrase \u201cgood egg<\/strong>\u201d emerged in nineteenth century Britain. It is an informal, cordial, way to say that someone is a decent person and someone you like.<\/p>\n

Conversely, calling someone a \u201cbad egg<\/strong>\u201d means that that person is trouble and shouldn\u2019t be trusted.<\/p>\n

Example Usage<\/h2>\n

Do you have no idea how you would include the phrase \u201cgood egg\u201d in a conversation? These examples will help better understand how you can use the phrase in your everyday language:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \u201cJohn is a little rowdy at times, and he gets up to no good on occasion, but he\u2019s a good egg<\/strong> when it boils down to it.\u201d<\/li>\n
  • \u201cOh, the new neighbor? I wasn\u2019t sure about him when he moved in, but now I\u2019ve got to know him a bit better I can say that he\u2019s a good egg<\/strong>. He even fixed my sink one time.\u201d<\/li>\n
  • \u201cWhen my grandma met my new boyfriend, she called him a good egg<\/strong>. What does that even mean? I guess she liked him, anyway.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Origin<\/h2>\n

    Chicken eggs have long been a staple in Western cuisine, but anyone who has ever mistakenly cracked a rotten egg knows that eggs can be tricky. There is no way to tell whether an uncracked egg is good (fresh; edible) or bad (rotten) just by looking at it<\/u>.<\/p>\n

    Before modern health and safety regulations came into place, it wasn\u2019t uncommon for people to crack eggs only to find out that they had gone off.<\/p>\n

    The metaphor is immediately apparent \u2014 with people, too, it is hard to tell what they are like \u201con the inside\u201d just by looking<\/u>. A related phrase would be that you \u201ccan\u2019t judge a book by its cover\u201d.<\/p>\n

    The phrase \u201cbad egg\u201d first emerged in the 1800s<\/strong>, when British<\/strong> upper-class schoolboys used it to describe rotten people. The term \u201cgood egg\u201d appears to have emerged only after the phrase \u201cbad egg\u201d was coined, and it has the opposite meaning.<\/p>\n

    A \u201cgood egg\u201d is someone who has proven themselves to be trustworthy and decent \u2014 a nice person. When you call someone a good egg, you are using a slightly dated but warm and affectionate phrase to show that you like the person.<\/p>\n

    While the phrase \u201cgood egg\u201d first arose in the UK, it is also used in the United States. Recent Urban Dictionary<\/em> entries on the topic show that the phrase remains in use among younger generations.<\/p>\n

    Phrases Similar to Good Egg<\/h2>\n

    If you don\u2019t want to call someone a good egg, you could also say that they are:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • A good guy<\/strong><\/li>\n
    • A decent fellow<\/strong><\/li>\n
    • A nice person<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Phrases Opposite to Good Egg<\/h2>\n

      The direct opposite of a good egg is a bad egg<\/strong> \u2014 meaning a rotten fellow, a nasty person, or a troublemaker.<\/p>\n

      What Is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n

      The correct saying is \u201cgood egg\u201d. A good egg is a nice, decent, reliable, and trustworthy person.<\/p>\n

      Ways People May Say Good Egg Incorrectly<\/h2>\n

      Once you understand the meaning of the phrase \u201cgood egg\u201d, it is very hard to use it incorrectly. However, before you include the phrase \u201cgood egg\u201d in your everyday language, you should be aware that it has become slightly dated.<\/p>\n

      Acceptable Ways to Phrase Good Egg<\/h2>\n

      You can use the phrase \u201cgood egg\u201d to describe someone you know to be a kind, nice, decent, or trustworthy person \u2014 a solid guy or gal with a good soul. When you call someone a good egg, you show that you have a high opinion of that person.<\/p>\n

      This phrase is casual, but not offensive, and is still common enough that most people will understand what you are talking about.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Are you looking for a slightly quaint, archaic, way to tell someone that they\u2019re a nice person, someone who can be relied on? You could call them a \u201cgood egg\u201d. Learn more about this phrase, its meaning, and its origin in this post. Meaning The phrase \u201cgood egg\u201d emerged in nineteenth century Britain. It is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9928"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9928"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9930,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9928\/revisions\/9930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}