Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

lay an egg

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.24 in modern English

Syllables: lay an egg
IPA

13

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

1

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To produce an egg.

verb

To produce a failure or flop; to do something which is unsuccessful.

verb

Synonym of grow a tail.

Humorous

Example Sentences

"During the mutiny of 1857–58, when several young surgeons had arrived in India, whose services were urgently needed at the front, it is said that the Head of the Department to which they had reported themselves, directed them immediately to 'lay a dawk.' One of them turned back from the door, saying: 'Would you explain, Sir; for you might just as well tell me to lay an egg!'"
"That author usually writes good stuff, but he really laid an egg with that last piece."

Usage

Humorous

Inflected Forms

lays an egg (present, singular) laying an egg (participle, present) laid an egg (participle, past) laid an egg (past)

Synonyms

grow a tail

Questions

What does lay an egg mean?: To produce an egg.

How to pronounce lay an egg

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “lay an egg”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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