eat humble pie
English
Etymology
The spoken phrase a numble pie (a pie made from the entrails of a deer) was re-interpreted as an umble pie, then written as (a) humble pie, after which the figurative meaning developed.
Pronunciation
Audio (AU): (file)
Verb
- (idiomatic, intransitive) to admit one's faults; to make a humiliating apology
- 1869, Louisa May Alcott, An Old-Fashioned Girl:
- Polly had a spice of girlish malice, and rather liked to see domineering Tom eat humble-pie, just enough to do him good, you know.
Translations
to admit one's faults
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Further reading
- “humble”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “Eat humble pie”, in BBC Learning English[1], BBC, 2014 November 4.