Meanings
- idiomaticpluralplural onlyA fanciful notion; an unrealistic or ludicrous concept.
[…] your Majesty knows I think the Horn—and that bit of broken stone over there—and your great King Peter—and your Lion Aslan—are all eggs in moonshine.
1951, C. S. Lewis, chapter 7, in Prince Caspian, Collins, published 19981 more example
You may discourse of Hermes' ascending spirit, of Orpheus' enchanting harp, of Homer's divine fury, of Tyrtaeus' enraging trumpet, of Pericles' bouncing thunderclaps, of Plato's enthusiastical ravishment, and I wot not what marvellous eggs in moonshine: but a fly for all your flying speculations when one good-fellow with his odd jests, or one mad knave with his awk hibber-gibber, is able to put down twenty of your smuggest artificial men, that simper it so nicely and coyly in their curious points.
1593, Gabriel Harvey, Pierce's Supererogation, or, A New Praise of the Old AssSynonyms: pie in the sky
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA fanciful notion; an unrealistic or ludicrous concept.
Origin
Probably from the name of a dish, referred to in 16th- and 17th-century English cookbooks, made of egg yolks lightly poached in sweetened rosewater. See also moonshine, culinary sense (US). https://web.archive.org/web/20160721010231/http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/eggsinmoonshine.htm
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
eggs in moonshine. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eggs%20in%20moonshine
“eggs in moonshine.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eggs%20in%20moonshine. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eggs in moonshine,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eggs%20in%20moonshine.
Source: eggs in moonshine on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.