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Stock phrases and phrasals, from your friends at EC, a top San Francisco English school

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After the basics of grammar are mostly in place, the ongoing work is in vocabulary.  However, you can’t negotiate English without fairly extensive knowledge of phrasal verbs, and stock phrases, and these vary considerably from one English-speaking nation to another, or even regionally within one country.  So, here are some American idioms, phrases and phrasals using “egg.”  (I just chose this at random.)

You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs.    [in doing something good, you may cause some harm to the innocent]

to egg on                       [to encourage a behavior]        The crowd egged him on.

an egghead                   [an intellectual]                           Conservatives criticize Obama for being an egghead.

to egg (something)     [to throw eggs at]                         His house was egged after he lost the game.

a rotten egg                  [something bad]                          She thought her boss was a real rotten egg.

don’t put all your eggs in one basket                              [don’t depend on only one resource/investment/romantic hope, etc.]

don’t count your chickens before they are hatched     [don’t depend on a future that may not happen]  –  Okay, it’s not eggs, but it’s related!

I’m sure there are more, but it’s late.  For more hints and help, follow this blog, and visit our website.  We’re part of the EC English chain, and we are happy to serve you as a San Francisco English school.

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