eat the onion

verb

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see eat, the, onion.

“No, the original plan for Chicago's street layout was not scribbled on the back of a napkin by an ancestor of Roger Ebert; you just ate the onion.”

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Meanings

eat the onion1

verbeat the onion (third-person singular simple present eats the onion, present participle eating the onion, simple past ate the onion, past participle eaten the onion)

present singular third person eats the onion · participle present eating the onion · past ate the onion · participle past eaten the onion · alternative eat The Onion

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see eat, the, onion.
  2. colloquialidiomaticTo be fooled by a work of satire, particularly in the satirical newspaper The Onion.

    No, the original plan for Chicago's street layout was not scribbled on the back of a napkin by an ancestor of Roger Ebert; you just ate the onion.

eat The Onion2

verbeat The Onion (third-person singular simple present eats The Onion, present participle eating The Onion, simple past ate The Onion, past participle eaten The Onion)

present singular third person eats The Onion · participle present eating The Onion · past ate The Onion · participle past eaten The Onion

  1. alternativeAlternative form of eat the onion
Cite this entry
APA

eat the onion. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20the%20onion

MLA

“eat the onion.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20the%20onion. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eat the onion,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20the%20onion.

Source: eat the onion on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.