egg on one's face

Meaning

1. 1phraseidiominformalfigurative

   The embarrassed state of someone who has been shown to be wrong or foolish, especially after confidently predicting something.

   Grammar: Used with 'have' or 'be left with'; the possessive matches the person: have egg on your face.

   Patterns

   • have egg on your face
   • be left with egg on your face
   • end up with egg on your face

   The manager had egg on his face when the team lost after he promised a win.

   I told everyone the shop was closed, but it was open, so I ended up with egg on my face.

   The company was left with egg on its face after its new app crashed on launch day.

Common combinations

have egg on your face

You'll have egg on your face if the rumor turns out to be wrong.

be left with egg on your face

The minister was left with egg on his face after the report came out.

end up with egg on your face

They ended up with egg on their faces when the plan failed.

leave someone with egg on their face

The result left the experts with egg on their faces.

Synonyms and how they differ

red-faced

This describes the blushing look of embarrassment and does not suggest you were proven wrong.

humiliated

This is stronger and more serious, while 'egg on your face' is lighter and a little humorous.

look foolish

This is a plain phrase, while the idiom carries the sense of a public mistake you were sure about.

red-faced

This focuses on the physical blush.

Opposites

Word family

egg noun

the round food item from a hen

face noun

the front of the head, here standing for public reputation

embarrassed adjective

feeling awkward and ashamed in front of others

embarrassment noun

the uncomfortable feeling of being shown up

Commonly confused: egg on one's face or lose face?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “egg on one's face”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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