humble pie
Americannoun
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humility forced upon someone, often under embarrassing conditions; humiliation.
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Obsolete. a pie made of the viscera and other inferior parts of deer or the like.
idioms
noun
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(formerly) a pie made from the heart, entrails, etc, of a deer
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to behave or be forced to behave humbly; be humiliated
Etymology
Origin of humble pie
1640–50; earlier phrase an umble pie, erroneous for a numble pie; see numbles
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Returning to either tour requires eating a slice of humble pie and, for some, paying a fortune to sweeten the deal.
From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026
Such a slice of humble pie coming from a chief executive is rare and a strong indication of Licht’s cloudy future at the network.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2023
The term humble pie, for example, comes from pies made with umbles, or scraps of meat and offal that fed peasants who were seated far away from royalty at banquets.
From Seattle Times • May 8, 2023
Two central banks that had said they saw no need for rate hikes until 2023 or 2024 have eaten humble pie in the space of a week.
From Reuters • May 3, 2022
He would go back to Dean's, though it meant eating humble pie.
From Ovington's Bank by Weyman, Stanley J.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
