| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024cu′rate's egg′, [Brit.]- British Termssomething discreetly declared to be partly good but in fact thoroughly bad.
- after a cartoon by German. du Maurier in the English humor weekly Punch (Nov. 9, 1895): a meek curate, when served a bad egg at the bishop's table, replies that "parts of it are excellent''
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: curate's egg n - something that has both good and bad parts
Etymology: 20th Century: derived from a cartoon in Punch (November, 1895) in which a timid curate, who has been served a bad egg while breakfasting with his bishop, says that parts of the egg are excellent |