Meanings
plural eggs of Columbus
- A brilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact.
Origin
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.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan l'ou de Colom
- l'ou de Colombrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Czech Kolumbovo vejce
- Kolumbovo vejcebrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Danish columbusæg, Columbus-æg
- columbusægbrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
- Columbus-ægbrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Dutch ei van Columbus
- ei van Columbusbrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Esperanto ovo de Kolumbo
- ovo de Kolumbobrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Finnish Kolumbuksen muna
- Kolumbuksen munabrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
French œuf de Colomb
- œuf de Colombbrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
German Ei des Kolumbus
- Ei des Kolumbusbrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Greek το αβγό του Κολόμβου
- το αβγό του Κολόμβου (to avgó tou Kolómvou)brilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Indonesian telur Columbus
- telur Columbusbrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Italian uovo di Colombo
- uovo di Colombobrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Japanese コロンブスの卵
- コロンブスの卵 (koronbusu no tamago)brilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Korean 콜럼버스의 달걀
- 콜럼버스의 달걀 (kolleombeoseuui dalgyal)brilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Lithuanian Kolumbo kiaušinis
- Kolumbo kiaušinisbrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Norwegian Bokmål columbi egg
- columbi eggbrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Polish jajko Kolumba
- jajko Kolumbabrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Portuguese ovo de Colombo
- ovo de Colombobrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Romanian uòu de Colomb
- uòu de Colombbrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Russian колумбово яйцо
- колумбово яйцо (kolumbovo jajco)brilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Slovak Kolumbovo vejce, Kolumbusovo vejce
- Kolumbovo vejcebrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
- Kolumbusovo vejcebrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Spanish huevo de Colón
- huevo de Colónbrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Swedish Columbi ägg
- Columbi äggbrilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Ukrainian колумбове яйце
- колумбове яйце (kolumbove jajce)brilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact
Cite this entry
egg of Columbus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/egg%20of%20Columbus
“egg of Columbus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/egg%20of%20Columbus. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “egg of Columbus,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/egg%20of%20Columbus.
Source: egg of Columbus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.