- chicken-and-egg
- ,chicken-and-`egg adjective only before nouna chicken-and-egg situation is one where it is impossible to say which of two things happened first or caused the other to happen
Usage of the words and phrases in modern English. 2013.
chicken-and-egg
Look at other dictionaries:
chicken-and-egg — ► chicken and egg (of a situation) in which each of two things appears to be necessary to the other. [ORIGIN: from the question ‘What came first, the chicken or the egg?’] Main Entry: ↑chicken … English terms dictionary
chicken-and-egg — [chik ənənd eg′] adj. of or relating to a paradoxical situation, question, etc. involving two factors, each of which in turn causes or leads to the other … English World dictionary
chicken-and-egg — /chik euhn euhn eg , euhnd /, adj. of, pertaining to, or being a dilemma of which of two things came first or of which is the cause and which the effect: a chicken and egg question of whether matter or energy is the basis of the universe. Also,… … Universalium
chicken-and-egg — ˌchik(ə̇)nən(d)¦eg, ¦āg adjective Etymology: so called from the proverbial question “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” : of, relating to, or being a cause and effect dilemma * * * adj used to describe a situation in which it is difficult … Useful english dictionary
chicken-and-egg — UK / US adjective [only before noun] a chicken and egg situation is one where it is impossible to say which of two things happened first or caused the other to happen • Etymology: From the question: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? ,… … English dictionary
chicken-and-egg situation — One in which it is impossible to tell which is the cause and which the effect • • • Main Entry: ↑chick … Useful english dictionary
chicken-and-egg — denoting a situation in which each of two things appears to be necessary to the other. [from the question ‘Which came first, the chicken or the egg?’] → chicken … English new terms dictionary
chicken-and-egg — adjective Etymology: from the proverbial question “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” Date: 1959 of, relating to, or being a cause and effect dilemma … New Collegiate Dictionary
(a) chicken and egg situation — a situation in which it is impossible to say which of two things existed first and which caused the other. It s a chicken and egg situation I don t know whether I was bad at the sciences because I wasn t interested in them or not interested in… … New idioms dictionary
(a) chicken-and-egg situation — a ˌchicken and ˈegg situation, problem, etc. idiom a situation in which it is difficult to tell which one of two things was the cause of the other Main entry: ↑chickenidiom … Useful english dictionary
