/ · 1894 Brewer’s · S · Shell of an Egg
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
After an egg in the shell has been eaten, many persons break or crush the empty shell. Sir Thomas Brown says this was done originally, “to prevent house-spirits from using the shell for their mischievous pranks.” (Book v., chap. xxiii.)
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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.