Phrase guide

curate's egg

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈkjʊəɹətz ˌɛɡ/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /-ɹɪtz/
  • General-American: /ˈkjʊɹɪtz ˌɛɡ/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A thing which has good and bad parts, but is overall spoiled by the bad.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From a cartoon by the Franco-British cartoonist and author George Du Maurier (1834–1896) captioned “True Humility” in the 9 November 1895 issue of Punch magazine, in which a bishop says to his mealtime guest, a curate, “I’m afraid you’ve got a bad egg, Mr. Jones!” The timid curate replies, “Oh no, my Lord, I assure you! Parts of it are excellent!”.

Across languages

Translations

2 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Polish: dwie strony medalu — thing which has good and bad parts, but is overall spoilt by the bad
  • Welsh: ŵy'r curad — thing which has good and bad parts, but is overall spoilt by the bad