humble pie

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Sense 1

Meaning · English

to apologize or admit fault, often in a humiliating way

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Xin lỗi hoặc thừa nhận lỗi, thường theo cách mất mặt

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: a type of pie
Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

He had to eat humble pie after his mistake was exposed

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.

Sense 2

Meaning · English

to "eat HUMBLE PIE," to knock under, to be submissive. The UMBLES, or entrails, and other unprime parts of a deer, were anciently made into a dish for servants, while their masters feasted off the haunch.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

nhường nhịn, phục tùng

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English
Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “humble pie” mean?

to apologize or admit fault, often in a humiliating way Literally: a type of pie

Is “humble pie” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.