chicken–and–egg

adjective

—used to describe a situation in which it is difficult to tell which of two things happened first

Full Definition of CHICKEN-AND-EGG

: of, relating to, or being a cause-and-effect dilemma

See chicken–and–egg defined for English-language learners

from the proverbial question “which came first, the chicken or the egg?”

First Known Use: 1959

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