to eat one's heart oat
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To brood over some trouble to such an extent that one wears one- self out with the worry of it; to suffer from hopeless disappointment in expectations.
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 one's heart oat” mean?
To brood over some trouble to such an extent that one wears one- self out with the worry of it; to suffer from hopeless disappointment in expectations.
Is “to eat one's heart oat” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.