eat humble pie


To be forced to acknowledge one's deficiencies or errors: “Professor Norris had to eat humble pie when the reviewers pointed out numerous factual errors in his book.” Humble pie refers to a dish originally made from the innards of a deer.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

How to use eat humble pie in a sentence

  • I shrewdly suspect that that estimable gentleman is going to eat humble pie, of my baking, from his wife's recipe.

    Within the Law | Marvin Dana
  • I do really assure you she won't; it's only wasting your time, and making you eat humble pie.

  • If this was an impracticable course to pursue, it was evident that he must abandon it and eat humble pie.

    Brooke's Daughter | Adeline Sergeant
  • What could be better than making some of those wretched Gargoyles eat humble pie under the very flag they were so proud of?

    The Hero of Garside School | J. Harwood Panting
  • "If father has to eat humble pie to Mr. Nugent on my account it will be simply rotten," she murmured.

    A Traitor's Wooing | Headon Hill