1
general::
Phrase(s): egg someone on
to encourage, urge, or dare someone to continue doing something, usually something unwise. • John wouldn’t have done the dangerous experiment if his brother hadn’t egged him on. • The two boys kept throwing stones because the other children were egging them on.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
Incite, urge ahead, provoke, as in Jack is always egging me on to drive faster, or Seemingly quiet, Margo actually eggs on Donald to quarrel with his staff. This expression has nothing to do with hen's eggs but comes from an Old Norse word, eggja, "to edge." Both edge on and egg on were used interchangeably, but today the latter is preferred. [c. 1200]
American Heritage Idioms