to eat dirt
Preserved but no longer current.
To put up with insults and mortification. Dirt-track racing is a form of motor-cycle racing on a track of cinders or similar sub- stance. Features of the sport are the shortness of the laps (about 440 yards) and the sharpness of the turns. It was introduced into England from Australia in 1928.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to eat dirt” mean?
To put up with insults and mortification. Dirt-track racing is a form of motor-cycle racing on a track of cinders or similar sub- stance. Features of the sport are the shortness of the laps (about 440 yards) and the sharpness of the turns. It was introduced into England from Australia in 1928.
Is “to eat dirt” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.