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How to suck eggs!

(12 Posts)
Pittcity Wed 11-Jun-25 17:41:22

Saw this question on Threads and wondered if any of you knew the answer.

"I’ve been told on occasion not to teach a grandmother to suck eggs though I doubt many existing grandmothers still know how to do this.

Can anyone tell me how, and why?"

Devorgilla Wed 11-Jun-25 17:48:42

Look up 'can you suck eggs' on the net and all will be explained. It really can be done.

Blossoming Wed 11-Jun-25 17:53:08

I know how to blow eggs!

Pittcity Wed 11-Jun-25 17:58:26

Blossoming

I know how to blow eggs!

I'd forgotten about that. We used to do it at Easter.

Pittcity Wed 11-Jun-25 18:00:06

Devorgilla

Look up 'can you suck eggs' on the net and all will be explained. It really can be done.

I should think you can. But the saying infers that Grandmothers are experts without resorting to Google.

kittylester Wed 11-Jun-25 18:02:51

Revolting thought.

Devorgilla Wed 11-Jun-25 19:34:45

Yes, Pittcity, but it doesn't explain the historical context. And some posters like to know that.

AuntieE Thu 12-Jun-25 14:50:49

I thought it was a euphemism for the original coarser remark: Go teach your father to sire children! And had nothing to do with teaching Grandma anything - not that I would have dared make the attempt!

EmilyHarburn Thu 12-Jun-25 21:48:56

My grand mother sucked eggs. She just taped the bottom of an egg on the side of her stone sink and then sucked it down and swallowed it.
Wikipedia says:
The origins of the phrase are not clear. The Oxford English Dictionary and others suggest that it comes from a translation in 1707, by J. Stevens, of Francisco de Quevedo (Spanish author):[2] "You would have me teach my Grandame to suck Eggs".[3][4] A record from 1859 implies common usage by that time.[5] Most likely the meaning of the idiom derives from the fact that before the advent of modern dentistry (and modern dental prostheses) many elderly people (grandparents) had very bad teeth, or no teeth, so that the simplest way for them to consume protein was to poke a pinhole in the shell of a raw egg and suck out the contents; therefore, a grandmother was usually already a practiced expert on sucking eggs and did not need anyone to show her how to do it

butterandjam Thu 12-Jun-25 22:42:41

Pittcity

Devorgilla

Look up 'can you suck eggs' on the net and all will be explained. It really can be done.

I should think you can. But the saying infers that Grandmothers are experts without resorting to Google.

I'm older than google.

Pittcity Fri 13-Jun-25 09:32:08

"I'm older than google."

Aren't we all?!

Devorgilla Fri 13-Jun-25 21:21:28

I certainly am, by several decades. Very glad though someone had the vision to give us the net, with knowledge at our fingertips. This OP got me thinking about other weird sayings and their origins.Some seem to have historical roots, others probably a lot more local.