Good in parts like the curate's egg
Meaning
Something bad that is called good out of politeness or timidity.
Origin
: A curate's egg. The origin of the phrase is the George du Maurier
cartoon "True Humility", printed in the British satirical magazine
Punch, on 9th November 1895. The cartoon gives fuller insight into its
meaning, which relies to some extent on an appreciation of irony.
TRUE HUMILITY
Right Reverend Host. "I’m afraid you've got a bad egg, Mr. Jones!"
The Curate. "Oh no, my Lord, I assure you! Parts of it are excellent!"
Left quote icon
True humility? More like true fear.
Right quote icon
Clearly an egg which was partly bad would be entirely unpalatable.
The curate, being too timid to complain to his host, looked for
something positive to say in reply. That initial meaning of the phrase;
to describe something which partly good but which was ruined by its bad
part, is now rather lost. That's not a situation that occurs very often.
It's now more often used just to describe something that is partly good
and partly bad.
P RAMANATHA
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