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"Eggness"?

Posted by Smokey Stover on October 07, 2009 at 08:22

In Reply to: "Eggness"? posted by Victoria S Dennis on October 06, 2009 at 18:30:

: : : : : : Why do people say 'lemon-juice message' and 'eggness'?

: : : : : Do they? In what context? I know that you can use lemon juice as "invisible ink" - you can't see what has been written until you heat the paper or paint it over with iodine. So a
: : : : : 'lemon-juice message' could be a secret message decodable only by someone who knew how. Does that fit the context in which you have heard it?

: : : : Eggness, even more than "lemon-juice message," needs some context. Eggs have many properties which, if not unique, are at least characteristic. But in any case the word is not a phrase.

: : : ["Eggness" - never heard it: could be it has something to do with "Eggs is eggs." Perhaps someone across the pond (a trans-ponder?) would atempt to explain this phrase. - B.]

: :
: : I saw an example from The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey:

: : "Did the captain come?" Reynie asked. "Or did I dream that?"
: : "No, he came by this morning. Do you not remember? You sat up and something like 'eggness', then fell back to sleep."

: In this instance, it appears that "eggness" isn't a word at all. The character specifically doesn't say that Reynie said "eggness", only that s/he, in a state of semi-consciousness, mumbled something unintelligible that *sounded like* "eggness", just as people roused out of sleep sometimes say something that sounds like "hufflewump" or "korbleworble." (VSD)

I'm sure that Victoria did not mean to say 'that "eggness" isn't a word at all." My Internet search engine reports 23 pages of citations of "eggness." Moreover, the word conforms to what is expected of a legitimate word in English. FOr one example, see:

[Dead link removed - ed]

Many of these citations are just expressions of enthusiasm for eggs, but one can imagine numerous other uses. One example:

"Humpty Dumpty" demanded that his manservant put him back together. "But Your Eggness," said the servant . . .
SS

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