egg of Columbus

English

Etymology

Referring to an apocryphal story in which Christopher Columbus, having been told that discovering the Americas was inevitable and no great accomplishment, challenges his critics to make an egg stand on its tip. When they give up, he does it himself by tapping the egg on the table to flatten its tip.

Noun

egg of Columbus (plural eggs of Columbus)

  1. A brilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact.

Translations

See also
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