eat one's words

1. Be forced to retract something one has said, as in The incumbent won easily, so I had to eat my words. This expression was already proverbial in John Ray's English Proverbs (1670). [Second half of 1500s]

Related Words

• back down 
• back off 
• cancel 
• deny 
• disavow 
• disown 
• pull back 
• recant 
• renege 
• renounce 
• repeal 
• repudiate 
• rescind 
• reverse 
• revoke 
• rule out 
• take back 
• withdraw