Is there any connection between the phrase "egging someone on" (inciting someone to action) and actual eggs?

You might assume this term comes from throwing eggs at people to goad them into action. Or perhaps it derives from whipping up a crowd, as if vigorously scrambling eggs.

In fact, "egg on" has nothing to do with edible ovoids. Instead, this phrase comes from the Old Norse "eggia," meaning "edge, sharp angle." So "egg," a variant of the verb "edge," came to mean "to give sharpness to, provoke."

Let's find out how some other "eggspressions" were hatched ...

—Egg on your face — This term for being humiliated or embarrassed may be derived from a common practice of 19th-century theater audiences: throwing tomatoes and rotten eggs at performers they didn't like.

But the fact that the term "egg on your face" didn't appear until the mid-20th century, well after such theatrical egging was common, undercuts the authenticity of this derivation.

Some linguists say the phrase simply refers to having pieces of egg left on your kisser after eating, only to be noticed later on by a colleague, date or spouse. As a mustachioed man who always checks the mirror after eating scrambled eggs, I find this explanation persuasive.

—Egg in your beer — Whenever my father thought I was being too fussy or picky, he'd ask, "What do you want? Egg in your beer?" Being too young to drink beer and wondering why people would want raw eggs in their beers anyway, I was a bit perplexed.

This expression may have originated with the belief that this protein-rich potion, often served in bars, was an aphrodisiac. In fact, during the 1930s, it was not uncommon for bar customers to ask for eggs in their beers. But the fact that this term rose to popularity among GIs (including my father) during World War II, a time when eggs and beer were in short supply, may explain its association with extravagance.

—Egghead — Appropriately enough, this derogatory term for a brainy person has sparked a heated debate among intellectuals.

When "egghead" first appeared in print in 1907, it apparently referred to a bald man. Some brainiacs say the term's "intellectual" definition emerged as early as 1918.

But other highbrows contend it didn't acquire this meaning until 1952, when newspaper columnist Stewart Alsop used it to describe Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson, a man who was bald, smart and — at least partly due to his "egghead" moniker — defeated.

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to [email protected] or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.