A "curate's egg" is a noun used to describe something that is at least partly bad, but with some arguably redeeming features.
In its original context, the term refers to something which is obviously and essentially bad but which is wilfully described euphemistically as being only partly so, its supposed good features being credited with undue redeeming power. Its modern usage varies, with some authorities defining it as something that is an indeterminate mix of good and bad and others stating it implies a preponderance of bad qualities.
Read more about Curate's Egg: Origin, Antithesis, Examples
Famous quotes containing the words curate and/or egg:
“It is indolence ... indolence and love of ease; a want of all laudable ambition, of taste for good company, or of inclination to take the trouble of being agreeable, which make men clergymen. A clergyman has nothing to do but be slovenly and selfish; read the newspaper, watch the weather, and quarrel with his wife. His curate does all the work and the business of his own life is to dine.”
—Jane Austen (1775–1817)
“Today everything is different. I can’t even get decent food. Right after I got here I ordered some spaghetti with marinara sauce and I got egg noodles and catsup. I’m an average nobody, I get to live the rest of my life like a schnook.”
—Nicholas Pileggi, U.S. screenwriter, and Martin Scorsese. Henry Hill (Ray Liotta)