to eat one's heart out
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To fret or worry un- reasonably; to allow grief or vexation to predominate over the mind, tincture all one's ideas, and absorb all other emotions.
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 out” mean?
To fret or worry un- reasonably; to allow grief or vexation to predominate over the mind, tincture all one's ideas, and absorb all other emotions.
Is “to eat one's heart out” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.