Meanings
nounegg on one's face (uncountable)
- informaluncountableEmbarrassment or humiliation; damage to one's reputation.
He really has egg on his face after that gaffe.
1 more example
I hope the bishop of Hereford comes out of this with a great deal of egg on his face.
2007 April 1, “Bishop blocks gay youth worker's job”, in The Observer, archived from the original on 24 Apr 2008
Origin
Attested by 1948.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 面上無光 /面上无光, 出醜 /出丑
- 面上無光 /面上无光 (miànshàngwúguāng)suffer embarrassment or humiliation
- 出醜 /出丑 (chūchǒu)suffer embarrassment or humiliation
Dutch een figuur slaan
- een figuur slaansuffer embarrassment or humiliation
Finnish tahrata maineensa
- tahrata maineensasuffer embarrassment or humiliation
French être en porte-à-faux
- être en porte-à-fauxsuffer embarrassment or humiliation
German Schamesröte im Gesicht
- Schamesröte im Gesichtsuffer embarrassment or humiliation
Italian fare una figuraccia
- fare una figuracciasuffer embarrassment or humiliation
Russian уда́рить в грязь лицом
- уда́рить в грязь лицом (udáritʹ v grjazʹ licom)suffer embarrassment or humiliation
Cite this entry
APA
egg on one's face. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/egg%20on%20one's%20face
MLA
“egg on one's face.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/egg%20on%20one's%20face. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “egg on one's face,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/egg%20on%20one's%20face.
Source: egg on one's face on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.