goose egg
idiom

- the numeral zero, often used to indicate the failure of a team to score in a game or unit of a game: a pitchers' duel, with nothing but goose eggs on the scoreboard

- zero, nothing. Especially: a score of zero in a game or contest

- a lump raised by a blow, especially on the head

Dictionary(dot)com / Merriam-Webster

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PHRASE ORIGIN

The phrase "goose egg" meaning zero or nothing has an interesting etymology. It derives from the resemblance of the digit 0 to an egg laid by a goose. The oval shape gives the zero digit an egg-like appearance.

The earliest recorded use of this numerical meaning dates back to the late 19th century. Before this, "goose egg" simply referred to an egg laid by a goose and was first cited in the 1600s.

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PHRASES ABOUT NOTHING

- Much ado about nothing = a lot of fuss or excitement over something unimportant.

- Come to nothing = to end up with no result or achievement.

- Nothing to write home / to shout / to speak about = something not impressive, interesting, or exciting enough to tell others about.

- Nothing to crow about = not something to be proud of.

- Nothing ventured, nothing gained = if you don't take risks, you will not achieve anything.

- Nothing to sneeze at = not insignificant or unimportant, actually pretty good.

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SYNONYMS

Synonyms for “nothing”:

absence, abyss, air, blackout, big fat nothing, big 0, blank (page), blankness, cipher, clean sheet (slate), dead end, dearth, desert, diddly-squat, dud, emptiness, enigma, erasure, expiry, fallowness, gap, goose egg, inertia, lack, lull, nada, naught, nil, nix, nonentity, nonexistence, not a blessed thing (a dime, a dickie bird, a sausage, a stitch), mere nothing, ne'er a one, nobody home, no-show, NOTHING, nothing doing, nothingness, nowheresville, null and void, nullity, null set, oblivion, omission, ought, outage, sheer nought, shutout, silence, stagnation, stupor, sweet fanny adams, sweet F.A., utter nothingness, vacancy, vacuum, void, zero, zilch, zilcho, zip, zippo

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