What Does the Expression “Eat Humble Pie” Mean and Where Did the Phrase Come From?

“Humble pie” is an Americanization of the original English expression “umble pie,” a staple in the diet of very poor people during the eleventh century.

After bringing down a deer, only the men could eat the choice meat from the kill.

Women and children were fed the innards, or the umbles, which they seasoned and baked into a pie.

To be forced to eat umble pie was to be placed among the lowest in the social order.

When humiliated, we are forced to “eat humble pie”.