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Mixed bag
- A curate’s egg is basically something that’s a mixed bag, something that has both good and bad parts. It’s the sort of thing you’d say when you’re trying to politely point out that while parts of something were excellent, other parts… well, not so much.
grammarist.com › idiom › curates-egg
A "curate's egg" is something described as partly bad and partly good. In its original usage, it referred to something that is obviously and entirely bad, but is described out of politeness as nonetheless having good features that redeem it.
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The Real Meaning of the Phrase ‘Curate’s Egg’. In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle examines the origins of an oft-misused phrase. ‘Good in parts.’ ‘A mixed bag.’. This is what people generally mean when they use the phrase ‘curate’s egg’ to describe something.
A ‘curate’s egg’ is a bad thing that is called good out of politeness or timidity. What's the origin of the phrase 'A curate's egg'? The origin of the phrase is the George du Maurier cartoon “ True Humility “, printed in the British satirical magazine Punch, on 9th November 1895.
Feb 20, 2017 · The phrase curate’s egg means something that has both good and bad characteristics or parts. This phrase was popularised by True Humility, a cartoon by George du Maurier *, published in Punch, or the London Charivari (London, England) of Saturday 9th November 1895.
- Origin of A Curate’S Egg
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This expression comes from a satirical cartoon, from the year 1895. The cartoon depicts a reverend serving a meal to a curate. (A curate is the title for an assistant to a priest.) The reverend remarks that the egg the curate received is spoiled. The curate wishes to be polite, so he says replies that the egg isn’t all bad. In fact, parts of the eg...
This example dialogue involves a husband and wife that are discussing the husband’s new job. Jennie: You’ve had this job for a full week now. What do you think of it? Bobby: Well, it’s a bit of a curate’s egg. There are a lot of good parts. The pay is a lot better than my old job, and I like my boss a lot. Jennie: So what’s the bad part then? Bobby...
This excerpt is about a team in England that got one win but then failed after that. 1. Gloucester, though, once again delivered a curate’s egg performance, with their opening night victory over champions Exeter being followed by losses to Harlequins and Tigers. –ESPN The second excerpt is about an affordable housing plan that has some good ideas, ...
The idiom a curate’s egg is an expression that means something with both positive and negative attributes.
The Curate’s Egg Meaning Explained. A curate’s egg is basically something that’s a mixed bag, something that has both good and bad parts. It’s the sort of thing you’d say when you’re trying to politely point out that while parts of something were excellent, other parts… well, not so much.
Jun 2, 2024 · A mess of pottage—or a curate's egg, if you prefer that—where fine, descriptive passages in good English, and showing a sensitive nature that appreciates beauty, go cheek by jowl with bad grammar, and casual intimacies such as one would look for in the personal story of a Simplicissimus.
