ENGLISH
REFERENCE

eggs in moonshine

idiom
Meaning

A fanciful notion; an unrealistic or ludicrous concept.


Origin

disputed origin

Probably from the name of a dish, referred to in 16th- and 17th-century English cookbooks, made of egg yolks lightly poached in sweetened rosewater. See also moonshine, culinary sense (US). https://web.archive.org/web/20160721010231/http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/eggsinmoonshine.htm

Examples
SIMPLE

His plan to win the lottery is just eggs in moonshine.

CONTEXTUAL

The investors rejected the proposal because they considered the entire project to be nothing more than eggs in moonshine.

COMPLEX

The politician dismissed the opposition's ambitious economic reform as mere eggs in moonshine, arguing that it lacked any foundation in reality.

Anchors to
Related idioms5entries
  1. 01

    kill the goose that lays the golden eggs

    To seek short-term gain at the sacrifice of long-term profit.

  2. 02

    lay eggs

    To produce a string of failures or flops.

  3. 03

    price of eggs

    Something that is relevant or important, usually used to emphasize that another, compared thing is irrelevant, unimportant, or non sequitur.

  4. 04

    put all one's eggs in one basket

    To rely on a single source (as of income), rather than diversifying.

  5. 05

    teach grandma how to suck eggs

    To tell an expert how to do things.

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