chicken and egg

a chicken and egg situation/problem

A situation in which it is unknown what happened, or what needs to happen, first. You need experience to get a job, but you need a job to get experience. It's a chicken and egg situation.
See also: and, chicken, egg, problem, situation
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

chicken and egg

1. If something is a chicken and egg situation, it is impossible to decide which of two related things happened first and caused the other. The link between current global temperature and carbon-dioxide emissions is not a chicken and egg situation. Cause and effect are quite clear. It's a chicken-and-egg argument about which comes first: Do people create a neighborhood lifestyle? Or does a neighborhood environment influence how residents live?
2. If something is a chicken and egg problem, it is impossible to deal with a problem because the solution is also the cause of the problem. Until we get promotion, we won't get the top players. But until we get top players, we won't win promotion. It's a chicken and egg problem. Note: This expression comes from the unanswerable question, `Which came first, the chicken or the egg?'
See also: and, chicken, egg
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
See also:
  • a chicken and egg situation/problem
  • a chicken-and-egg problem
  • a chicken-and-egg situation
  • situation
  • broaden
  • broaden (one's) horizons
  • once-in-a-lifetime experience
  • speak from experience
  • growth experience
  • jarring experience
References in periodicals archive
PM hits back at those mocking his 'chicken and egg idea' to boost economy
We've done some standalone cookbooks that have been very successful, like Great Curries, Perfect Pies, Meat Feasts, so why not Chicken and Egg? "With Meat Feasts, we were a bit stuck for puddings, but this does tick all the boxes, from soups to starters, desserts, baking, you've got the lot with chicken and eggs."
The Hairy Bikers' Chicken and Egg BBC2, 8pm Si King and Dave Myers love chicken.
By the way, in addition to the research about the chicken and egg that answers which came first, a lesser known byproduct of the research is that these findings could lead to a better understanding of how to rebuild human bones!
Now some families have developed new strategies to benefit from their chicken and egg production.
For help deciding which breeds to keep, consult MOTHER'S Chicken and Egg Page, which features a number of articles from our Archive about chicken breeds, or the list of chicken resources on the Web maintained by John Henderson at Ithaca College.
The industry is painfully aware of its shortcomings but has to rely on chicken and egg imports to cover the market.
The decline in campylobacteriosis and the lack of poultry in shops lasted 4 weeks, exactly the period from seizing all Belgian chicken and egg products from the supermarket shelves until the return of these items.
When it comes to chicken and egg stories, John Wood's is hard to beat.
Well, in celebration of chicken and egg recipes across the world (and to tie in with their latest best-selling cookbook), globetrotting cooks Si and Dave begin their latest world tour on home turf by showing viewers how to ensure they make a perfect roast dinner every time.
Some scientists also say the 'chicken and egg' question depends largely on how you define an egg.
Meanwhile, talking to reporters in Sukkur on Saturday, Pakistan Peoples Party leader Khursheed Shah said that Pakistan was being laughed at over the 'chicken and eggs statement'.
Rural poultry farmers sell chicken and eggs to meet their needs (Halima, 2007).
The concerned authorities should chalk out a mechanism to control prices of kitchen items especially chicken and eggs which are essential for a sound health, Sadia Sajjad, a house wife suggested.
Both have hosted TV programmes investigating welfare conditions of "factory" reared chicken and eggs. Several supermarkets have pre-empted the inevitable consumer backlash by pledging to phase out cage eggs.