Meaning & use
chicken and egg situation
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
A situation in which it is impossible to decide which of two things happened first or caused the other, because each depends on the other.
Grammar: Usually appears as "a chicken and egg situation" or "the chicken and egg situation"; it is countable.
Patterns
- a chicken and egg situation
- the chicken and egg situation
- This is a chicken and egg situation.
We can't get funding without a prototype, and we can't build a prototype without funding — it's a chicken and egg situation.
The chicken and egg situation in the job market makes it hard for new graduates to get experience.
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? It's a classic chicken and egg situation.
Common combinations
- a classic chicken and egg situation
- The debate about whether technology drives change or change drives technology is a classic chicken and egg situation.
- face a chicken and egg situation
- Start-ups often face a chicken and egg situation when they try to attract users and advertisers at the same time.
- get into a chicken and egg situation
- The two departments got into a chicken and egg situation, each waiting for the other to act first.
- break the chicken and egg situation
- A small pilot project helped break the chicken and egg situation.
Synonyms and how they differ
- circular problem
- More general; it can describe any problem that repeats without progress, not just one where cause and effect are unclear.
- vicious circle
- Focuses on a bad situation that keeps making itself worse, while a chicken and egg situation focuses on not knowing which thing came first.
Word family
- chicken-and-egg adjective
- Used before a noun to describe this kind of problem: "a chicken-and-egg problem."
Commonly confused: chicken and egg situation or chicken out?
chicken and egg situation vs chicken out
A phrasal verb meaning to decide not to do something because you are afraid; it has nothing to do with the chicken and egg situation.
Practice
Which sentence uses "chicken and egg situation" correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 correctly describes a problem where each thing depends on the other. Option 1 confuses it with food, option 2 uses it as a verb, and option 3 treats it as an animal, none of which fit the phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “chicken and egg situation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.