good egg, a
good egg
Someone who is known to be trustworthy and kind. Joey's a good egg. He always makes time to help others in need.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
(a) good egg
Fig. a good and dependable person. He seems like a good egg. I'll take a chance on him.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
good egg, a
Also, a good scout. An amiable, basically nice person. For example, You can always count on her to help; she's a good egg, or His friends all think Dad's really a good scout. This colloquial antonym of bad egg dates from the early 1900s, as did the variant.
See also: good
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
a good egg
OLD-FASHIONEDIf you describe someone as a good egg, you mean that they are a kind and reliable person. Her father's a bit bad-tempered, but basically a good egg.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
good egg, a
An agreeable, trustworthy person. This slangy expression has outlived bad egg, which it actually implied in the sixteenth century. “Neither good egge nor good bird,” went the saying, meaning the young (egg) would not turn into praiseworthy adults (bird). In the nineteenth century this continued to be spelled out: “A bad egg [is] a fellow who has not proved to be as good as his promise” (The Athenaeum, 1864). The favorable aspect of good egg dates from the early twentieth century. Rudyard Kipling used it in Traffics and Discoveries (1904): “‘Good egg!’ quoth Moorshed.”
See also: good
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
good egg
An agreeable, helpful person. The phrase applied to someone of value in terms of utility, the opposite of a no-good rotten egg. It was most often heard in such requests as “Be a good egg and mail this letter for me” or “Pour me another whisky, like a good egg.”
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price