
IdiomFood & Drink
English
teach your grandmother to suck eggs
Meaning: To give advice to someone who knows far more than you.
Example: “Explaining knitting to my aunt is teaching my grandmother to suck eggs.”
Origin: Sucking the contents out of a raw egg was a skill an old woman would already know well. The phrase is recorded from the early 18th century.
Equivalents in other languages
Chinese: 班门弄斧 (bān mén nòng fǔ) Literally: To show off your axe at Lu Ban's gate
More English idioms
- big deal Said sarcastically to mean something is not important at all.
- play into someone's hands To act in a way that unintentionally helps an opponent.
- play dumb To pretend not to know or understand something.
- all hell breaks loose Chaos and disorder suddenly erupt.
- make short work of something To deal with or finish something quickly.
- be put out to pasture To be retired or set aside as no longer useful.
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