but the curate assured the bishop that parts of his were excellent. Although the curate was merely being sycophantic (a bad egg can have no good parts), the phrase "curate's egg" has fallen into (un?)common usage to apply to anything that, whilst rubbish, has some redeeming qualities.
In this case, the phone is not a good one, in spite of some good features (camera, keyboard).
Register
Yes, a bad egg is entirely inedible,
but the curate assured the bishop that parts of his were excellent. Although the curate was merely being sycophantic (a bad egg can have no good parts), the phrase "curate's egg" has fallen into (un?)common usage to apply to anything that, whilst rubbish, has some redeeming qualities.
In this case, the phone is not a good one, in spite of some good features (camera, keyboard).
Tsk.