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

brilliant idea or discovery that seems simple after the fact

• Asturian: güevu de Colón m
• Catalan: l'ou de Colom m
• Czech: Kolumbovo vejce n
• Danish: columbusæg n, Columbus-æg n
• Dutch: ei van Columbus n
• Esperanto: ovo de Kolumbo
• Finnish: Kolumbuksen muna
• French: œuf de Colomb (fr) m
• Galician: ovo de Colón m
• German: Ei des Kolumbus (de)
• Greek: αβγό του Κολόμβου n (avgó tou Kolómvou)
• Indonesian: telur Columbus
• Italian: uovo di Colombo m
• Japanese: コロンブスの卵 (コロンブスのたまご, koronbusu no tamago)
• Korean: 콜럼버스의 달걀 (kolleombeoseuui dalgyal)
• Lithuanian: Kolumbo kiaušinis
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: columbi egg n

  Nynorsk: columbi egg n

• Polish: jajko Kolumba (pl) n
• Portuguese: ovo de Colombo m
• Romanian: uòu de Colomb n
• Russian: колумбово яйцо (ru) n (kolumbovo jajco)
• Slovak: Kolumbovo vejce n, Kolumbusovo vejce n
• Spanish: huevo de Colón (es) m
• Swedish: Columbi ägg (sv) n
• Ukrainian: колумбове яйце n (kolumbove jajce)

See also

• Columbus egg