Meaning of Idiom ‘Eat Humble Pie’
To eat humble pie is to be forced to admit one’s error or wrongdoing and to be humiliated, abased or “humbled.” 1Troy, Eric. “Eating Humble Pie: How Did This Expression Come About?” Culinary Lore, 29 May 2018, ., 2Ayto, John. Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms. Oxford: Oxford U, 2010., 3Jarvie, Gordon. Bloomsbury Dictionary of Idioms. London: Bloomsbury, 2009.
See also eat crow.
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Examples Of Use
“You’ll have to eat humble pie before this is over.”
“Charles went around accusing everyone at work of stealing his expensive pen. Then he found it in his shirt pocket. Boy did he have to eat humble pie.”
“I know I’m right on this but if I turn out to be wrong, I’m willing to eat humble pie.”
Origin
This idiom originated with an actual pie made from the innards of a deer, or offal. Called a numble pie, the ‘n’ was eventually dropped to become umble. This eventually became humble, which may have occurred as an obvious pun, given the humble nature of the pie. For a full historical explanation see Eating Humble Pie: How Did This Expression Come About?
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