Origin of Phrases - E
Eating Humble Pie
Meaning: To be proven wrong, usually after boasting.
Example: With the fall of the Soviet Union, the communists are eating humble pie.
Origin: Humble pie is a derivation of umble pie and refers to the intestines of an animal especially when used for food. The original umbles were the innards of the deer: the liver, heart, entrails and other second-class bits. It was common practice in medieval times to serve a pie made of these parts of the animal to the servants and others that would be sitting at the lower tables in the lord's hall.
To eat humble pie is to accept your position at the lower table.
The phrase, which means to eat your own words or humiliate yourself, refers to what the British used to call the humbles, or lesser parts of an animal. These include the heart, liver, kidneys, etc. Not exactly the greatest things to eat.