eat one's words

English

Verb

eat one's words (third-person singular simple present eats one's words, present participle eating one's words, simple past ate one's words, past participle eaten one's words)

1. (figuratively) To regret or retract what one has said.

   He didn't think I could do it, but I proved him wrong and made him eat his words.

   This time, you have to eat your words, because, like it or not, you lost.

   • 1936, F.J. Thwaites, chapter II, in The Redemption, Sydney: H. John Edwards, page 16:

     "Better retract that," she advised, "hadn't you?" "Why should I?" "Because if you're stupid enough to remain in Bombay, I'll make you eat your words one day."

   • 1957 September, M. D. Greville and G. O. Holt, “Railway Development in Manchester—1”, in Railway Magazine, page 618:

     However, in 1844, saner counsels prevailed, and Edgeley became the principal station—the directors eating their words once more by retaining the older station, which was renamed Heaton Norris.

   • 2007 July 17, Nicholas Lezard, “Harry Potter's big con is the prose”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian‎^[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 5 October 2014:

     Of course, if she [J. K. Rowling] has turned into a first-class writer with her forthcoming Potter book, I will happily, no, joyously, eat my words.

Synonyms

• (regret): eat crow
• (retract): recant, take back; See also Thesaurus:recant

Translations

regret something said

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 承認說錯話 / 承认说错话 (chéngrèn shuō cuò huà)

• Danish: æde sine ord
• Dutch: zijn woorden terugnemen, zijn woorden innemen
• Finnish: perua sanansa, syödä sanansa
• French: se rétracter (fr)
• Icelandic: taka orð sín aftur, éta ofan í sig, éta í sig
• Italian: ritrattarsi
• Maori: kairua
• Swedish: äta upp sina egna ord
• Thai: กลืนน้ำลายตัวเอง (th) (glʉʉn-nám-laai-dtuua-eeng, literally “to gulp down one's saliva”)

Anagrams

• ate one's words