ENGLISH
REFERENCE

lay eggs

idiom
Meaning

To produce a string of failures or flops.


Origin

disputed origin

Variant of lay an egg, using the plural form.

Examples
SIMPLE

The director keeps laying eggs with his recent movies.

CONTEXTUAL

The team was expected to win the championship, but they laid eggs in every single playoff game.

COMPLEX

Despite the massive budget and star-studded cast, the studio laid eggs with three consecutive summer releases, leading to significant financial losses.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    eggs in moonshine

    A fanciful notion; an unrealistic or ludicrous concept.

  2. 02

    kill the goose that lays the golden eggs

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

  3. 03

    lay a finger on

    To merely touch.

  4. 04

    lay an anchor to the windward

    To adopt precautionary or anticipatory measures for potential future success or security.

  5. 05

    lay an egg

    To produce a failure or flop; to do something which is unsuccessful.

  6. 06

    lay at someone's door

    To blame (a problem) on someone; to hold someone responsible for (something).

  7. 07

    lay by the heels

    To fetter, to shackle; to imprison.

  8. 08

    lay down the law

    To authoritatively or dogmatically assert what is permitted or not permitted.

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