Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

egg of columbus

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.90 in modern English

Syllables
egg of -colum-bus
IPA
24
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
3
Syllables
10
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A brilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact.

Etymology

Referring to an apocryphal story in which Christopher Columbus, having been told that discovering the Americas was inevitable and no great accomplishment, challenges his critics to make an egg stand on its tip. When they give up, he does it himself by tapping the egg on the table to flatten its tip.

Inflected Forms

eggs of Columbus (plural)

Phrases

Columbus egg

Frequently Paired Words

Columbus egg

Questions

What does egg of columbus mean?
A brilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact.
Where does egg of columbus come from?
Referring to an apocryphal story in which Christopher Columbus, having been told that discovering the Americas was inevitable and no great accomplishment, challenges his critics to make an egg stand on its tip. When they give up, he does it himself by tapping the egg on the table to flatten its tip.

How to pronounce egg of columbus

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “egg of columbus”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “egg of columbus”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “egg of columbus” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.