humble pie

noun

1. humility forced upon someone, often under embarrassing conditions; humiliation.
2. Obsolete. a pie made of the viscera and other inferior parts of deer or the like.

humble pie

noun

1. (formerly) a pie made from the heart, entrails, etc, of a deer
2. eat humble pie
   to behave or be forced to behave humbly; be humiliated

Word History and Origins

Origin of humble pie¹

1640–50; earlier phrase an umble pie, erroneous for a numble pie; numbles

Word History and Origins

Origin of humble pie¹

C17: earlier an umble pie, by mistaken word division from a numble pie, from numbles offal of a deer, from Old French nombles, ultimately from Latin lumbulus a little loin, from lumbus loin

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. eat humble pie, to be forced to apologize humbly; suffer humiliation:

   He had to eat humble pie and publicly admit his error.

Example Sentences

Looking back, he says, it was a hefty and much needed helping of humble pie.

From The Daily Beast

Her pen travelled with remarkable ease over the paper; the humble pie, it appeared, was being consumed without much difficulty.

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

She forced her to accompany her to Baltimore to see Elaine, though she rebelled bitterly against this eating of "humble pie."

From Project Gutenberg

I do really assure you she won't; it's only wasting your time, and making you eat humble pie.

From Project Gutenberg

It was not by eating humble pie, fellow, that I have grown to what I am.

From Project Gutenberg