- Meaning
- This idiom means to be embarrassed, humiliated, or caught looking foolish due to a mistake or failure, often publicly. It suggests a visible, undeniable blunder, as if one’s face is smeared with egg, and is used in contexts of professional, social, or personal missteps to highlight shame or ridicule.
- Origin
- The phrase likely originated in early 20th-century American theater slang, where performers hit with eggs by a disapproving audience were said to have ‘egg on their face.’ It appeared in print by the 1930s, with a 1934 *Variety* article using it to describe a failed act. By the mid-20th century, it was common in American English, especially in journalism, to describe public embarrassments, as seen during political scandals. Its vivid, humorous imagery ensured its spread to British and global English.
- Variants
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- Egg on your face
- Left with egg on your face
- Examples
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- He was caught with egg on his face after predicting the team’s victory, only for them to lose badly.
- She had egg on her face when her bold presentation was proven wrong by the data.
- Caught with egg on his face, the critic retracted his scathing review after the film’s success.
- They were left with egg on their face when their hyped product failed to launch.
- Don’t make promises you can’t keep, or you’ll end up with egg on your face.
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