walking on eggs

Meanings

1. 1phraseidiom

   Behaving with extreme care so that you do not upset or annoy someone.

   Grammar: Used after 'be' or a verb like 'keep': She was walking on eggs around him.

   Patterns

   • be walking on eggs
   • be walking on eggs around someone
   • keep walking on eggs with someone

   After their argument, he was walking on eggs for days, afraid to say the wrong thing.

   You don't have to walk on eggs with me — just tell me what's really wrong.

   She kept walking on eggs at home because her father lost his temper so easily.

2. 2phraseidiomfigurative

   Acting in a very cautious way because a situation is risky or delicate.

   Grammar: Often used about negotiations or tense situations; usually follows 'be' or 'feel like'.

   Patterns

   • be walking on eggs
   • feel like you are walking on eggs

   Both sides were walking on eggs during the talks, since one wrong word could end them.

   The new manager felt like he was walking on eggs until he understood how the team worked.

Common combinations

be walking on eggs

Everyone was walking on eggs after the boss's angry email.

walk on eggs around someone

We all walk on eggs around my uncle when he's tired.

keep walking on eggs

He kept walking on eggs, never sure what would set her off.

feel like you're walking on eggs

I felt like I was walking on eggs the whole evening.

walking on eggs with someone

She hates walking on eggs with clients and prefers to be direct.

Synonyms and how they differ

walking on eggshells

The usual, more common form of the same idiom; use it in everyday speech.

treading carefully

A general phrase meaning acting with care; it does not suggest that someone else is easily upset.

being diplomatic

Focuses on choosing words well to avoid offense, rather than on general caution.

Opposites

Word family

eggshell noun

The hard outer covering of an egg, used in the fuller form of this idiom.

Commonly confused: walking on eggs or walking on air?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “walking on eggs”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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