Reader question:
What does "chicken and egg" mean in "Maybe it's a chick-or-egg problem"?
My comments:
The chick-or-egg refers to the idiomatic expression: "Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?"
You know, chickens lay eggs, but they are hatched from eggs. So, which came about first?
Not that people walk around every day wondering whether the chicken came into existence ahead of the egg or vice versa, they just use this expression to talk about two things that have influence on one another, and especially when the cause and effect becomes cyclical and it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.
In other words, who got the ball rolling first?
Say, you've been on friendly terms with someone for years. One Christmas day, you receive a gift from the other person – a Rolex watch, for example (suppose people value this sort of thing) – with a thank you note saying you deserve the gift for all the wonderful things you've done for him or her over the years. It is your first Rolex watch and you find your ruminating how your friendship first began. But you can't remember. Certainly neither of you handed out a Rolex watch to the other on the first day of your acquaintance. A slight nod of the head was more likely it.But as to who started the ball rolling in terms of building a serious relationship, and when, you have no idea. You can't put a firm hand on that. Call it the chicken-or-egg thing – whoever offered the other an olive branch first, one thing led to another and your friendship has grown till this day and that's the most important thing.
Don't know if this is a good example, but I hope you get an idea of the chick-or-egg thing. In standard form, it's "which comes first, the chicken or the egg?" In actual use, this expression may vary into the "chicken-or-egg question", or "chicken-and-egg situation", or "chicken-or-egg paradox".
Here are media examples:
1. Most such deals raise capital in spite of constraints posed by credit ratings or financial covenants. But it's impossible to separate structured finance from the accounting methods corporations use to achieve it. That raises the chicken-or-egg question underscored by recent scandals: Can the deal stand on its economic merits or does it depend on favorable accounting?
"The fundamental rationale for structured financing is the value it creates" by unlocking otherwise inaccessible capital, argues Andrew T. Feldstein, head of structured financing products at JPMorgan Chase. "The vast majority of structured finance transactions were done for good economic reasons. The anecdotes you hear about are the ones that were done badly."
2. The basic unit of life is the cell (i.e. the prokaryote). What is a cell? A modern cell is a lipid-protein membrane enclosing a volume of chemicals at different concentrations. A cell is very complex. It has a selectively permeable membrane to allow certain molecules in or out. A cell has various metabolic pathways that help maintain cell integrity, and therefore prolong the existence of its complexity. A simple lipid bilayer is impermeable to polar molecules. On the other hand, a protein membrane is quite "leaky", allowing all kinds of molecules to pass through. A cell must retain certain molecules while removing others. For example, if a cell just had a simple lipid membrane enclosing different chemicals, simple chemical reactions would go to "completion" or to equilibrium. More chemicals would need to be brought in and waste products would need to be removed.
It's the classic "the chicken or the egg" paradox. Which came first, the membrane or the cytoplasm? Did a membrane develop first to allow various chemicals in and out? Or were the chemicals concentrated enough to allow metabolism before the membrane developed? Similarly, how did the genetic system develop? Did the proteins come first or the genetic code?
3. The relationship between diabetes and depression apparently cuts both ways: Not only are people with treated type 2 diabetes at a heightened risk for developing depression, but individuals with depression are also at risk for developing diabetes. It's a classic chick or egg question, because doctors don't know which one comes first – the diabetes or the depression.
女性朋友注意! 留胡子的男性更易有外遇
《好汉两个半》男星染艾滋 曾砸钱封口
再剁一次手! 阿里巴巴淘宝年货节就要来了!
别人想让你相信的荒谬之事
花豹隔着玻璃与女孩玩拍手游戏
为啥失败价值连城?
北上广不相信眼泪 想说爱你不容易
如何爱惜好你的毛衣?
工作很不爽?该这样向老板吐槽
3D打印轮椅助无腿小狗行走
美国晚餐百年进化史3分钟视频 天朝人看哭了
朝九晚五真的是工作的意义吗
癌症少年励志感人演讲:把握现今放手追梦
夫妻治疗是否有效?
让你的相亲之路畅通无阻8个建议
让你和爱人白头偕老的20条箴言
爆料:多名一线女星借腹生子并假装怀孕
寂寞而温暖:手机诞生前我们的生活是这样的
工作漫漫长,7种方法把时间减一半
直击巴黎枪击爆炸事件
外媒笑了:双11过后你们中国人只能吃土!
理想公司的多个职位都喜欢,怎么选?
无肉不欢的人们看过来!吃肉也减肥哦
和妹子说晚安的五种正确姿势
光棍节必备:致单身狗的11条明星语录
女人减肥动因TOP4 你有没有中枪?
撕逼有理!研究称女人30岁前嫉妒心最强
我国快递集中进行整顿 将实名登记
口香糖墙遭清:全球最恶心旅游景点要没了!
职场攀升, 基层员工的5大制胜法宝
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |