be one egg short of an omelet

derogatory To be unintelligent or of questionable mental capacity. One of many different forms and variations of the phrase (for example, "a few sandwiches shy of a picnic," "one card shy of a full deck," etc.). Every time Paul tells me about his latest conspiracy theory, I can't help thinking that he's one egg short of an omelet. Tommy's one egg short of an omelet if he thinks he can convince our mother to let him get a tattoo for his birthday. He says he's going to start a business selling bees as pets—I think he may be egg short of an omelet.

See also: an, egg, of, omelet, one, short

one egg short of an omelet

A derogatory phrase meaning not very intelligent or of questionable mental capacity. One of many different forms and variations of the phrase (for example, "a few sandwiches shy of a picnic," "one card shy of a full deck," etc.). Every time Paul tells me about his latest conspiracy theory, I can't help thinking that he's one egg short of an omelet.

See also: an, egg, of, omelet, one, short

you can't make an omelet without breaking (a few) eggs

proverb Sometimes, you have to do unpleasant things in order to complete a task or meet a goal. Your students clearly don't respect you. I know you don't want to yell at them, but you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. If I don't cut people's salaries, the company is going to go bankrupt. It's unfortunate, but you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs.

See also: an, breaking, egg, make, omelet, without

you can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs

Sometimes, you have to do unpleasant things in order to complete a task or meet a goal. Your students clearly don't respect you. I know you don't want to yell at them, but you can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs. If I don't cut people's salaries, the company is going to go bankrupt. It's unfortunate, but you can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs.

See also: an, breaking, egg, make, omelet, without

you have to break eggs to make an omelet

Sometimes, you have to do unpleasant things in order to complete a task or meet a goal. Your students clearly don't respect you. I know you don't want to yell at them, but you've got to break eggs to make an omelet. If I don't cut people's salaries, the company is going to go bankrupt. It's unfortunate, but you've got to break eggs to make an omelet.

See also: an, break, egg, have, make, omelet, to

you've got to crack a few eggs to make an omelet

Sometimes, you have to do unpleasant things in order to complete a task or meet a goal. Your students clearly don't respect you. I know you don't want to yell at them, but you've got to crack a few eggs to make an omelet. If I don't cut people's salaries, the company is going to go bankrupt. It's unfortunate, but you've got to crack a few eggs to make an omelet.

See also: an, crack, egg, few, make, omelet, to

You cannot make an omelet without breaking eggs.

Prov. In order to get something good or useful, you must give up something else. Jill: Why do they have to tear down that beautiful old building to build an office park? Jane: You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs. Alan: We may make more money by raising our prices, but we'll also upset a lot of customers. Fred: You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs.

See also: an, breaking, cannot, egg, make, omelet, without

you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs

To accomplish something, you have to be willing to make sacrifices. This term is a straight translation from the French (On ne saurait faire une omelette sans casser des oeufs), who not only invented omelets but transferred the term to other affairs. It was translated into English in the nineteenth century. Combining two clichés, General P. Thompson said, “We are walking upon eggs, and whether we tread East or tread West, the omelet will not be made without the breaking of some” (Audi Alt, 1859; cited by OED).

See also: an, breaking, egg, make, omelet, without

See also: