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.[1][2] This meaning has been largely supplanted by its less ironic modern usage, which refers to something that is in fact an indeterminate mix of good and bad,[3][4] possibly with a preponderance of bad qualities.[5]
Right Reverend Host: "I'm afraid you've got a bad Egg, Mr Jones!"; The Curate: "Oh no, my Lord, I assure you! Parts of it are excellent!" True Humility by George du Maurier, originally published in Punch, 9 November 1895.
Historyedit
The expression is pre-dated by an anecdote in Our Bishops and Deans by the Reverend F. Arnold, referenced in an issue of The Academy: A Weekly Review of Literature, Science, and Art: "Without pledging our credence, we could afford a grin to the story of the 'young Levite' who at a bishop's breakfast-table, was so 'umble as to decline the replacement of a bad egg by a good one with a 'No thank you, my Lord, it's good enough for me'."[6][7]
The cartoon by Wilkerson, originally published in Judy, 22 May 1895.
In May 1895, the satirical British magazine Judy published a cartoon by artist Wilkerson, showing a timid curate and a fierce-looking bishop at breakfast in the bishop's house. The bishop says, "Dear me, I'm afraid your egg's not good!" The curate, desperate not to offend his host and superior, replies, "Oh, yes, my Lord, really – er – some parts of it are very good."[6] In November that year, the magazine Punch (which had a much wider circulation than Judy) published a similar cartoon by staff illustrator George du Maurier. Titled True Humility, it also pictures a timid-looking curate eating breakfast with his bishop, though in this case with others at the table and servants shown in the background.[8] The bishop says: "I'm afraid you've got a bad egg, Mr Jones." The curate replies: "Oh no, my Lord, I assure you! Parts of it are excellent!" An editor at Judy accused Punch of plagiarism, saying in an editorial, "anyone can see the coincidence for themselves".[6] This version of the gag has become the best known.[6]
For the final issue of Punch, published in 1992, an artist redrew the du Maurier cartoon, with the curate simply saying, "This f***ing egg's bad!"[9][10]
The Economist's Style Guide of 2018 cites the curate's egg in its entry for the connotations of 'good in parts'. It states: "good in parts is what the curate said about an egg that was wholly bad. He was trying to be polite."[11]
Referencesedit
^Paraphrase of definition in Collins Dictionary of the English Language, London, 1986, p.381
^Style guide. Economist Books (9th ed.). London: Profile Books. 2005. p. 59. ISBN978-1-84765-030-6. OCLC 236346040. [G]ood in parts is what the curate said about an egg that was wholly bad. He was trying to be polite.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^van den Bergh, Hubert (2013). How to Sound Really Clever: 600 Words You Need to Know. A & C Black. p. 39. ISBN978-1408194850.
^Nicholson, Bob (2018-07-04). "Tweet depicting 1992 Punch redrawing of the cartoon". Victorian Humour. Edge Hill University/British Library. Retrieved 2019-04-19. Punch returned to its famous curate's egg cartoon in 1992 for the magazine's final issue, with a subversive re-telling that highlighted the apparent death of Victorian manners.
curate, curate, something, described, partly, partly, good, original, usage, referred, something, that, obviously, entirely, described, politeness, nonetheless, having, good, features, that, redeem, this, meaning, been, largely, supplanted, less, ironic, moder. 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 1 2 This meaning has been largely supplanted by its less ironic modern usage which refers to something that is in fact an indeterminate mix of good and bad 3 4 possibly with a preponderance of bad qualities 5 Right Reverend Host I m afraid you ve got a bad Egg Mr Jones The Curate Oh no my Lord I assure you Parts of it are excellent True Humility by George du Maurier originally published in Punch 9 November 1895 History editThe expression is pre dated by an anecdote in Our Bishops and Deans by the Reverend F Arnold referenced in an issue of The Academy A Weekly Review of Literature Science and Art Without pledging our credence we could afford a grin to the story of the young Levite who at a bishop s breakfast table was so umble as to decline the replacement of a bad egg by a good one with a No thank you my Lord it s good enough for me 6 7 nbsp The cartoon by Wilkerson originally published in Judy 22 May 1895 In May 1895 the satirical British magazine Judy published a cartoon by artist Wilkerson showing a timid curate and a fierce looking bishop at breakfast in the bishop s house The bishop says Dear me I m afraid your egg s not good The curate desperate not to offend his host and superior replies Oh yes my Lord really er some parts of it are very good 6 In November that year the magazine Punch which had a much wider circulation than Judy published a similar cartoon by staff illustrator George du Maurier Titled True Humility it also pictures a timid looking curate eating breakfast with his bishop though in this case with others at the table and servants shown in the background 8 The bishop says I m afraid you ve got a bad egg Mr Jones The curate replies Oh no my Lord I assure you Parts of it are excellent An editor at Judy accused Punch of plagiarism saying in an editorial anyone can see the coincidence for themselves 6 This version of the gag has become the best known 6 For the final issue of Punch published in 1992 an artist redrew the du Maurier cartoon with the curate simply saying This f ing egg s bad 9 10 The Economist s Style Guide of 2018 cites the curate s egg in its entry for the connotations of good in parts It states good in parts is what the curate said about an egg that was wholly bad He was trying to be polite 11 References edit Paraphrase of definition in Collins Dictionary of the English Language London 1986 p 381 Style guide Economist Books 9th ed London Profile Books 2005 p 59 ISBN 978 1 84765 030 6 OCLC 236346040 G ood in parts is what the curate said about an egg that was wholly bad He was trying to be polite a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint others link Oxford Dictionaries definition The Phrase Finder Curate s egg curate s egg Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary dictionary cambridge org Retrieved 2018 08 26 a b c d The Curate s Egg Parts of It Are Excellent Quote Investigator Retrieved 2019 03 05 The Academy London Robert Scott Walker 1875 pp 651 652 The New Oxford Dictionary of English Oxford University Press 1998 p 449 van den Bergh Hubert 2013 How to Sound Really Clever 600 Words You Need to Know A amp C Black p 39 ISBN 978 1408194850 Nicholson Bob 2018 07 04 Tweet depicting 1992 Punch redrawing of the cartoon Victorian Humour Edge Hill University British Library Retrieved 2019 04 19 Punch returned to its famous curate s egg cartoon in 1992 for the magazine s final issue with a subversive re telling that highlighted the apparent death of Victorian manners Style guide Economist Newspaper Limited 12 ed London Profile Books Ltd 2018 p 57 ISBN 978 1 78125 831 6 OCLC 1040691923 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint others link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Curate 27s egg amp oldid 1154775028, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
