Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

chicken and egg

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.24 in modern English

Syllables: chick-en and egg
IPA

27

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

2

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A situation or case in which it is difficult to distinguish cause and effect, having a circular character.

Example Sentences

"From present observation, A and B are needed to make C, and C is needed to make A and B. This chemical cycle has, again, a “chicken and egg” character."
"Every other show on TV has a guest panel of comics, so why can’t a drag queen tell the latest Apprentice contestant: “You’re fired”? Or a mime taste the cakes on the Bake Off’s An Extra Slice? The answer is usually that we aren’t in the same network because of cabaret’s lack of presence outside of the live space – the classic chicken-and-egg of TV success."
"When it comes to fighting for democracy and climate change – two of Jamie Raskin’s top priorities – the whole thing feels a bit like a game of chicken and egg to the Democratic congressman."

Etymology

From the proverbial question of whether the chicken or the egg came first, attested as early as Aristotle (4th century BCE).

Inflected Forms

chicken-and-egg (alternative) chicken or egg (alternative)

Phrases

chicken-and-eggish

Synonyms

hen and egg

Questions

What does chicken and egg mean?: A situation or case in which it is difficult to distinguish cause and effect, having a circular character.
Where does chicken and egg come from?: From the proverbial question of whether the chicken or the egg came first, attested as early as Aristotle (4th century BCE).

How to pronounce chicken and egg

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