eat crow
To recognize that one has been shown to be mistaken or outdone, especially by admitting that one has made a humiliating error.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He had to eat crow when his prediction was wrong.”
“You will eat crow if your team loses the game today.”
“She eats crow every time she gives people the wrong directions.”
“After bragging about his cooking skills, he had to eat crow when everyone preferred her simple pasta.”
“The manager had to eat crow during the meeting after the data proved his new strategy was actually losing the company money.”
“I had to eat crow and apologize to my neighbor when I found the missing package on my own porch.”
“The scientist had to eat crow in front of her colleagues when a junior researcher discovered a major math error in her published study.”
“The critic, who had dismissed the young director's debut as amateurish, was forced to eat crow when the film swept every major award.”
First appeared in the US in the 1870s under the form eat boiled crow. Further origin unknown. Crow meat is considered unfit for consumption, but this is true of very many animals. Compare perhaps the association of black birds with misfortune.
- 01
as the crow flies
In a straight line distance between two locations, as opposed to the road distance or over land distance.
- 02
bite to eat
A snack or quick meal.
- 03
don't shit where you eat
One should not cause trouble in places, groups, or situations that one holds as important or necessary to one's happiness or well-being.
- 04
eat an elephant one bite at a time
To do something one step at a time; to do something in steps rather than all at once.
- 05
eat and leave no crumbs
Synonym of eat (“to be very good at something; to rule; to rock”).
- 06
eat away
To physically corrode or erode (something) gradually.
- 07
eat dirt
To eat humble pie.
- 08
eat for two
To be pregnant
Last updated August 10, 2026