Meanings
From a cartoon by the Franco-British cartoonist and author George Du Maurier (1834–1896) captioned “True Humility” in the 9 November 1895 issue of Punch magazine,[1] in which a bishop says to his mealtime guest, a curate, “I’m afraid you’ve got a bad egg, Mr. Jones!” The timid curate replies, “Oh no, my Lord, I assure you! Parts of it are excellent!”.
How to pronounce "curate's egg":
AU
A thing which has good and bad parts, but is overall spoilt by the bad.
Example Sentences
1
The first film in the series was a curate's egg, with some strong performances but a weak plot.
2
Although the book received mixed reviews, critics described it as a curate's egg, full of both brilliant and dull chapters.
3
The fashion show was a curate's egg, with some stunning designs but also some poorly executed ones.
4
The restaurant was a curate's egg, serving delicious appetizers but disappointing main courses.
5
Some customers found the new software update to be a curate's egg, with improvements in some areas but regressions in others.
