To eat humble pie

To eat humble pie
Eat Eat ([=e]t), v. t. [imp. {Ate} ([=a]t; 277), Obsolescent & Colloq. {Eat} ([e^]t); p. p. {Eaten} ([=e]t"'n), Obs. or Colloq. {Eat} ([e^]t); p. pr. & vb. n. {Eating}.] [OE. eten, AS. etan; akin to OS. etan, OFries. eta, D. eten, OHG. ezzan, G. essen, Icel. eta, Sw. ["a]ta, Dan. [ae]de, Goth. itan, Ir. & Gael. ith, W. ysu, L. edere, Gr. 'e`dein, Skr. ad. [root]6. Cf. {Etch}, {Fret} to rub, {Edible}.] 1. To chew and swallow as food; to devour; -- said especially of food not liquid; as, to eat bread. ``To eat grass as oxen.'' --Dan. iv. 25. [1913 Webster]

They . . . ate the sacrifices of the dead. --Ps. cvi. 28. [1913 Webster]

The lean . . . did eat up the first seven fat kine. --Gen. xli. 20. [1913 Webster]

The lion had not eaten the carcass. --1 Kings xiii. 28. [1913 Webster]

With stories told of many a feat, How fairy Mab the junkets eat. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

The island princes overbold Have eat our substance. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]

His wretched estate is eaten up with mortgages. --Thackeray. [1913 Webster]

2. To corrode, as metal, by rust; to consume the flesh, as a cancer; to waste or wear away; to destroy gradually; to cause to disappear. [1913 Webster]

{To eat humble pie}. See under {Humble}.

{To eat of} (partitive use). ``Eat of the bread that can not waste.'' --Keble.

{To eat one's words}, to retract what one has said. (See the Citation under {Blurt}.)

{To eat out}, to consume completely. ``Eat out the heart and comfort of it.'' --Tillotson.

{To eat the wind out of a vessel} (Naut.), to gain slowly to windward of her.

Syn: To consume; devour; gnaw; corrode. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • eat humble pie — (punningly) To humble or abase oneself, to eat one s words, etc • • • Main Entry: ↑humbles * * * eat humble pie phrase to admit that you were wrong about something Thesaurus: to admit you are wrong or have done something wrongsynonym Main entry …   Useful english dictionary

  • eat humble pie — {v. phr.} To be humbled; to accept insult or shame; admit your error and apologize. * /Tow told a lie about George, and when he was found out, he had to eat humble pie./ * /In some old stories a boy with a stepfather has to eat humble pie./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • eat humble pie — {v. phr.} To be humbled; to accept insult or shame; admit your error and apologize. * /Tow told a lie about George, and when he was found out, he had to eat humble pie./ * /In some old stories a boy with a stepfather has to eat humble pie./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • eat humble pie — ► eat humble pie make a humble apology and accept humiliation. [ORIGIN: humble pie is from a pun based on archaic umbles «offal», considered inferior food.] Main Entry: ↑humble …   English terms dictionary

  • eat humble pie — If someone apologises and shows a lot of contrition for something they have done, they eat humble pie …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • eat\ humble\ pie — v. phr. To be humbled; to accept insult or shame; admit your error and apologize. Tow told a lie about George, and when he was found out, he had to eat humble pie. In some old stories a boy with a stepfather has to eat humble pie …   Словарь американских идиом

  • eat humble pie —    If you eat humble pie, you are forced to admit that you were wrong and apologize.     After openly criticizing Bill s work, Fred had to eat humble pie when Bill was elected salesman of the year …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • eat humble pie — admit I did not play well, feel humble after defeat    Ben had to eat humble pie after he finished fourth in the race …   English idioms

  • eat humble pie — admit one s error and apologize He had to eat humble pie in front of his friends when they discovered his mistake …   Idioms and examples

  • eat humble pie — British, American & Australian, American to be forced to admit that you are wrong and to say you are sorry. The producers of the advert had to eat humble pie and apologize for misrepresenting the facts …   New idioms dictionary

  • Eat humble pie —   If someone apologises and shows a lot of contrition for something they have done,they eat humble pie …   Dictionary of English idioms

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