egg on

Idioms and Phrases

Incite, urge ahead, provoke, as in Jack is always egging me on to drive faster , or Seemingly quiet, Margo actually eggs on Donald to quarrel with his staff . This expression has nothing to do with hen's eggs but comes from an Old Norse word, eggja , “to edge.” Both edge on and egg on were used interchangeably, but today the latter is preferred. [c. 1200]

Example Sentences

Capitol and tried to overturn the 2020 election, egged on by his unremitting and self-serving lies.

From Los Angeles Times

But if you want to risk the nest egg on something, here’s a safe bet:

From Los Angeles Times

We cage billions of hens, giving them less space than a sheet of paper for their eggs on factory farms.

From Salon

Miller describes the owls as “eggs on legs” because the animal’s round head and body sit atop long, skinny legs.

From Los Angeles Times

After their extended summer recess, they returned after Labor Day and set out to score preelection points — egged on by Donald Trump — rather than seriously trying to pass legislation to keep the government funded.

From Los Angeles Times