The term 'laid an egg' is a phrase used to describe a situation where someone or something has FAILED miserably. In this crossword, the solutions CACKLED (7 letters), FLOPPED (7 letters), FAILED (6 letters) and FELLFLAT (8 letters) all refer to this phrase. Cackled implies that the failure was loud and embarrassing, while flopped suggests that it was clumsy and uncoordinated. FAILED implies that the attempt was unsuccessful, and fellflat implies that it was met with complete silence. All of these words together paint a picture of a situation that was a complete disaster.