egg n.1
1. in pl., the testicles.
Talk of Ten Wives in | Jyl of Brentford 32: A sory laueroke satt ... Opon two adyll eggis.||
Bloody Brother IV ii: Pox, he feedes With leachery, and lives upon th’exchange Of his two Eggs and Puddings with the market woman. | ||
Roxburghe Ballads (1874) II 380: [A clap which makes me] go stradling with swelling my eggs you may drive a wheelbarrow between my two legs. | ‘New Made Gentlewoman’ in||
Hell upon Earth 42: [Male whores approach men] with a chuck under the Chin, and O you bold Pullet I’ll break your Eggs. | ||
My Secret Life (1966) V 959: It contains two stones called also testicles, which feel from the outside about the size of bantams’ eggs, and some people call them their eggs. | ||
‘Confessions of a Virtuous Wife’ in Cabinet of Venus 303: Kissing and fondling his eggs as his yard worked in and out. | ||
‘The Castration of the Strawberry Roan’ in Whorehouse Bells Were Ringing (1995) 93: The boss held his head, and I hog tied his legs, / Got out his jackknife and went for his eggs; / When I carved on his bag, he let out a squall, / And squealed like a pig when I whittled one ball. | ||
in Limerick (1953) 290: Meat-rationing did not terrify Miss Davey, / She got married to a sailor in the Navy, / For she knew between his legs / He had ham and he had eggs / A big wienie, and oodles of white gravy. | ||
in Ozark Folksongs and Folklore (1992) II 652: [as cit. c.1940]. | ||
In This Corner (1974) 362: He hit me right in the nuts, the cup pressed against my egg, and it hurt. | in Heller||
Plainclothes Naked (2002) 229: George Junior [...] had cupped himself in such a way that the main event was hidden. All eggs and no sausage. | ||
Man-Eating Typewriter 202: I reefed again, sharpering desperately for my petty egglets. Nix jewels. nanti testicles! |
2. (also eggshell) the head or skull.
Coll. Short Stories (1941) 419: Nate had to [...] say Burke had hurt one of his hands on Kemp’s egg. | ‘A Frame-Up’ in||
Another Mug for the Bier 41: ‘[S]someday you are going to get that old eggshell of yours caved in for carrying money like that’. |
3. a grenade, a bomb; thus lay an egg v., to drop a bomb.
🌐 At about 4.00 p.m. one of our aeros went over head and dropped some eggs for the Turks’ tea. | diary 19 June||
‘I Want to Go to Essen’ in Airman’s Song Book (1945) 60: I want to go to Essen to lay my little egg [...] So to Essen we’ll go with a hell of a bombing formation. | ||
(con. WWI) Gloss. of Sl. [...] in the A.I.F. 1921–1924 (rev. t/s) n.p.: lay-an-egg. (of an aeroplane) Drop a bomb. | ||
(con. 1914–18) Three Lights from a Match 280: ‘Ready with the eggs?’ he asked. | ||
(con. WWI) Flesh in Armour 248: That night Fritz dropped five eggs on Querrieu [Ibid.] 262: ‘I’d like the goold Hun up there to drop fifty of his very biggest eggs all at once along Whitehall, and we might win the war — what?’. | ||
(con. WWI) Pulps (1970) 49/2: Avery pulled the releases and sent the twenty pound eggs plunging earthward. | ‘The Flaming Arrow’ in Goodstone||
Life and Death at the Old Bailey 143: The escort is also armed – with small grenades filled with liquid paint, known amongst bank messengers as ‘eggs’. They are useful weapons against the thief who relies on a quick getaway by mingling with the crowd. | ||
‘The Heavy Bombers’ in Airman’s Song Book (1945) 143: The eggs may miss the goods yard, but they muck up poor old Hamm. | ||
(con. WWII) And Then We Heard The Thunder (1964) 324: The boom-boom-booms came from the gasoline dump [...] Tojo had laid his egg dead center. | ||
Bat-21 104: Some barstardly F-4 pilot had put some eggs in too close and blown up his cornfield. | ||
Life Its Ownself (1985) 299: Yep! It’s bombs away, as I like to say. the old eggs heading for the heart of the city! | ||
Widespread Panic 164: The Japs [...] dropped those eggs on Pearl Harbor. |
4. (orig. US) a bruise.
Fast One (1936) 17: Dave is cold with an egg over his ear. | ||
Young Team 46: [H]e kin fight. A kin feel a few eggs awready. |
5. (US) a baseball or football (see cite 1901).
S.F. Call 17 Nov. 8/2: I seen ’em put the leather egg [...] About the middle of the field. | ||
Dict. Amer. Sl. | ||
Slanguage Dict. Mod. Amer. Sl. | ||
About Three Bricks Shy of a Load 55: ‘Hold on to that egg, guv’nor,’ Rooster said in the direction of a rookie receiver. ‘’Cause you can’t score without that apple’. |
6. in fig. use of sense 1 above, courage, virility.
Adolescent Subcult 194: They really got their eggs (testicles or ‘balls’) to fight [HDAS]. |
7. (US) a large precious stone.
Price You Pay 113: [Y]ou a married woman with a ring like that size. Don’t let the egg fool ya Justin I am washing that man right outta my hair. |
8. in drug uses.
(a) usu. pl., any drug in capsule form, or the capsule itself.
(con. 1952) Boys of Summer 122: Roy Campanella [...] indicated two vitamin pills [...] ‘You’d be amazed,’ he said, ‘at all the power that’s in them little eggs’. | ||
Assault with a Deadly Weapon 161: Most of the time people call the cap an egg: ‘Give me twenty eggs’ [ibid] 162: Man, you better go in there and sniff two or three of them eggs. |
(b) temazepam, a tranquillizer.
🌐 Benzodiazepines (Benzos, temazies, jellies, eggs, moggies, vallies). [...] temazepam (Tems, Temazzies, Eggs, Green Eggs, Jellies, Norries, Rugby balls). | Urban75.com||
Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 64/2: egg n. 1 a temazepam capsule. |
(c) crack cocaine.
ONDCP Street Terms 8: Egg — Crack Cocaine. |
(d) (Aus.) MDMA tablets.
🌐 Ecstasy: Also known as Es, eccies, pills, XTC, X, Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), biccies, tabs, eggs, googs, vitamin E, essence, adam. Eve, the hug drug, the love drug. | RaveSave.doof.org
In phrases
(US gay) the testicles.
Sex Variants. | ‘Lang. of Homosexuality’ Appendix VII in Henry||
Guild Dict. Homosexual Terms 14: egg in the basket (n.): The testicles. | ||
Queens’ Vernacular. |
(Aus.) insane.
Bulletin (Sydney) 8 Sept. 35/4: Sampson waxed shrill. ‘Man, man, man!’ he said, ‘are ye out of your egg? Have ye senses and brains?’. |
SE in slang uses
In compounds
1. (US) an autogiro or helicopter.
AS XXX:2 120: WHIRLIGIG; EGG BEATER; INFURIATED PALM TREE, n.; n. phr. Helicopter. | ‘Gloss. Air Force Sl.’ in||
Penelope 189: They [...] had spent most of the daylight hours flying above the submerged submarine in their eggbeater. | ||
(con. 1950s) Four Deuces 101: Red [...] told me about the ‘whirlybirds,’ the ‘eggbeaters,’ the ‘windmills’. | ||
How to Kiss a Crocodile 103: A very windy journey across the tarmac, hair vertical, climb aboard the vibrating egg beater, up into the air. | ||
Mad Cows 163: They looked up as the airborne eggbeater descended. | ||
Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. |
2. an old car.
Campus Sl. Apr. |
(Aus.) a bowler hat.
Hilarities 132: Mr Bruce should adopt the style of head cover once used to be known as an ‘egg-boiler’. | ||
Here’s Luck 161: ‘Where did you get that boy-size egg-boiler?’ asked Flannery. | ||
Le Courrier Australien (Sydney) 5 June 7/1: You call a bowler hat a darby or hardboiled hat: we line it up as a boxer, bocker, hardhitter, eggboiler, plug hat, peadodger, bun or hap harry. | ||
I Travelled a Lonely Land (1957) 233/1: egg boiler – bowler hat. | ||
Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 73: egg-boiler Any confining hat, originally a bowler hat — on a hot day your egghead boils in it. ANZ c1920. |
1. (US) an old car or aeroplane.
TAD Lex. (1993) 35: If he can make that egg crate go I’ll suggest his name for a medal. | in Zwilling||
Amer. Thes. Sl. | ||
Battle Cry (1964) 108: Where the hell did they dig up this crap detail, guarding them goddam egg crates. | ||
Nowhere 180: Who you think’s flying this egg-crate? | ||
Hobey Baker: Amer. Legend 112: He craved the excitement that could be achieved only on the stadium field or in a flying egg crate thousands of feet over the deadliest playing field of all. |
2. an old elevator.
Foundry 27: The men [...] were pounding down the iron stairs, not waiting for old Charley’s slow-going egg-crate. |
(US) one who stares or gawps foolishly.
Cat Man 225: Brownie shriveled the townies. He let them have the benefit of his advice. ‘You half-asses are getting out of here if I have to goose the jizz out of every one of you. Egg-eyes!’. |
see separate entries.
(US) a foolish or unpleasant person.
in By Himself (1974) 117: What an awful egg-nog he is....You say the word and I’ll throw him off the back platform [HDAS]. |
1. (Aus//N.Z. prison) a general term of abuse.
Big Huey 118: Brian [...] was spewing over them [...] saying they were eggrolls and lashers and weaklings, for failing to stick fat. | ||
Godson 325: Peregrine can be a bit of an egg roll at times. |
2. (US) a derog. term for a Korean immigrant.
Maledicta VII 23: In New York in 1983 the new Korean immigrants and probably other Asian groups are sometimes called egg roll. |
3. (US gay) a Chinese man’s penis.
Gay (S)language. |
(Aus./N.Z.) a bald person.
Murrumbidgee Irrigator (Leeton, NSW) 25 Aug. 4/3: It was a very happy function, with many good humored references to the ‘Egg-Shell Blonde’ — a sally at the guest's bald pate. | ||
Sydney Morn. Herald 15 Mar. 9/3: Some time ago I read that if I massaged my dome for fifteen minutes morning and evening a fine, luxuriant crop of hair would result. [...] Being at the time an egg-shell blond I was much interested in the article, and intended to cut it out. | ||
Dly Mercury (Mackay, Qld) 15 Jan. 2/2: NEW THATCH FOR ‘EGGSHELL BLOND’ [...] A ferry fire man who was bald for 10 years now has a thick head of hair. | ||
‘Whisper All Aussie Dict.’ in Kings Cross Whisper (Sydney) xxxiv 4/4: egg shell blonde: Bald headed person. | ||
Llama Parlour 126: The only good thing was that, with his clean-shaven head — an egg-shell blond we called it at home — nobody has recognised him. | ||
Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. |
see separate entries.
semen; thus egg-white cannon, the penis.
in Erotic Muse (1992) 311: The cabin girl ran down the deck. / The villain he pursued her. / The white of an egg ran down her leg. / Columbo, he had screwed her! | ||
in Ozark Folksongs and Folklore (1992) I 504: The white of egg run down her leg, / That son-of-a-bitch, he’d screwed her. | ||
Roger’s Profanisaurus 3 in Viz 98 Oct. 12: egg-white cannon n. A four inch blue-veined blunderbuss loaded with two balls. |
In phrases
(US campus) a fool, a simpleton, an obnoxious person.
Sex-Lexis 🌐 egg for fuck Jocular replacement for shit for brains. |
(US) a phr. meaning something for nothing, used as an ironical retort.
AS XIII:2 156/1: egg in your beer. An easy job; something for nothing. | ‘Aeroplane Factory English’||
Jr. ‘Sticktown Nocturne’ in Baltimore Sun (MD) 12 Aug. A-1/1: The Sinbads of these [bars] are the salt of the earth — and the egg in the beer of the 47 tavernkeepers. | ||
AS XXI:4 Dec. 243: 3. Whaddya want – an egg in your beer? Properly, this is the retort courteous to a gripe, or bitch, which is not fully justified. By loose usage, it has become an answer to any and all complaints. | ‘Amer. Army Speech’ in||
(con. 1942) Battle Cry (1964) 5: What do you want, chief, eggs in your beer? | ||
Good Words 101: The mocking Am. phrase, whaddya want—egg in your beer? Variantly, You want egg in your beer, go check into the Ritz. | ||
Flyboys 79: So what are ya waitin’ for? Eggs in your beer? Get goin’! | ||
🌐 Also, it would have been excellent if Russ Nicholson, illustrator of the first novel, was the artist for Return of Firetop Mountain. But, what do you want, egg in your beer??? | ‘Rev. of Return to Firetop Mountain’ at FightingFantasy.com||
Grist mag. 11 July 🌐 What do you want, eggs in your beer? |
(US) trustworthy.
(ref. to 1920s) Over the Wall 82: I’m pretty sure he’s eggs-and-the-coffee. I’m going to let him in on this caper. [Ibid.] 98: He was ‘eggs and the coffee,’ which in Tom Murray’s lingo meant that he was all right. |
(US) excellent, wonderful, ideal.
Story Omnibus (1966) 36: It was going to be duck soup — yeh! Eggs in the coffee — yeh! | ‘Fly Paper’||
We Who Are About to Die 201: Then everthing will be all right, an’ you don’t have no trouble, an’ it’s eggs in the coffee. |
(US black) to be pregnant.
Jailhouse Jargon and Street Sl. [unpub. ms.]. |
see under beat it v.
In exclamations
(US campus) enthusiastic response of agreement.
Campus Sl. Fall 2: egg-a-muffin – [...] a response indicating agreement. |
(Aus.) hurry up!
Joyful Condemned 40: ‘Egg on,’ Mort urged impatiently. |
(N.Z.) that’s it! that’s all! it’s over! etc.
Boy’s Own Paper 11 Mar. 376: ‘Don’t move an inch or I fire,’ he cried [...] As the Maories say, ‘my potato was cooked,’ and I obeyed. | ||
Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 42/2: eggs are cooked, one’s, something undesirable and probably inevitable which somebody has suffered; eg ‘After droughts two years running, his eggs were well and truly cooked.’ c. 1910. | ||
Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. [as cit. 1988]. |
(US campus) excl. of dismissal.
TAD Lex. (1993) 41: [Fan to noisy spectator:] Go lay an egg. | in Zwilling||
Hollywood Girl 54: Do you think my heart is a revolving door [...] go lay an egg. | ||
Sailor Beware! I i: Aw, go lay an egg! | ||
Awake and Sing! II i: Why don’t you lay an egg, Axelrod? | ||
I Spit On Your Graves (translation) (1996) 50: ‘Now’s the time to take advantage of her, cuty-pie. Go to it.’ ‘Oh go lay an egg. It‘s too easy with somebody that’s drunk.’. | ||
My Downside Up Life 38: If our jaws weren’t aching so much by this time, I would have resorted to the well-known command, ‘Oh, go lay an egg!’. |