Meanings
present singular third person eats humble pie · participle present eating humble pie · past ate humble pie · participle past eaten humble pie
- idiomaticintransitiveTo admit one's faults; to make a humiliating apology.
But there seems little doubt that [Francis] Fukuyama has had to eat rather a lot of humble pie.
2022 March 8, Andrew Anthony, “Liberalism and Its Discontents by Francis Fukuyama review – a defence of liberalism… from a former neocon”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC5 more examples
They were good-natured enough out of their cups, and ate their humble-pie with very good appetites at a reconciliation dinner which Colonel W. had with the 44th, and where he was as perfectly stupid and correct as Prince Prettyman need be. Hang him!
1857–1858, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, chapter XII, in The Virginians. A Tale of the Last Century, volume I, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1858, →OCLCPolly had a spice of girlish malice, and rather liked to see domineering Tom eat humble-pie, just enough to do him good, you know.
1869–1870, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, An Old-Fashioned Girl, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, published 1870, →OCLCAngela shook her head. “Men are dull creatures.” “I have already granted that, and I am eating humble pie in asking for an explanation.”
1879, Henry James, Confidence, London: Chatto & WindusIf you don’t eat humble-pie now you may live to fare worse later. I can't help you a cent. Life's hard enough nowadays for an unprotected male. Let alone a girl.
1909 October, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “Expostulations”, in Ann Veronica: A Modern Love Story, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers, published 1909, →OCLC, § 5, page 130Should the economists who sounded the alarm — the same people who got so many high-profile predictions wrong in recent years — be sitting down to eat another course of humble pie? Well, it’s not that simple.
2025 July 31, Jason Furman, “The tariffs kicked in. The sky didn’t fall. Were the economists wrong?”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC
Origin
The spoken phrase a numble pie (a pie made from the entrails of a deer) was rebracketed as an umble pie, then written as (a) humble pie, after which the figurative meaning developed.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Czech sypat popel na hlavu
- sypat popel na hlavuto admit one’s faults
Finnish nöyrtyä, pyytää nöyrästi anteeksi
- nöyrtyäto admit one’s faults
- pyytää nöyrästi anteeksito admit one’s faults
French manger son chapeau
- manger son chapeauto admit one’s faults
German zu Kreuze kriechen
- zu Kreuze kriechento admit one’s faults
Hungarian megalázkodik
- megalázkodikto admit one’s faults
Icelandic leggja niður skottið
- leggja niður skottiðto admit one’s faults
Italian mangiare la polvere
- mangiare la polvereto admit one’s faults
Norwegian Bokmål spise hatten sin, krype til korset
- spise hatten sinto admit one’s faults
- krype til korsetto admit one’s faults
Polish pokajać się
- pokajać sięto admit one’s faults
Spanish tragarse las palabras
- tragarse las palabrasto admit one’s faults
Swedish krypa till korset
- krypa till korsetto admit one’s faults
Cite this entry
eat humble pie. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20humble%20pie
“eat humble pie.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20humble%20pie. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eat humble pie,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20humble%20pie.
Source: eat humble pie on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.