eat crow

Meaning

1. 1phraseidiominformalAmerican

   To admit that you were wrong and accept the embarrassment of having made a mistake, especially after being confident.

   Grammar: Used as a verb phrase; no object is needed, and it is often followed by 'and' plus another verb.

   Patterns

   • eat crow
   • have to eat crow
   • eat crow and admit something

   After predicting the team would lose, he had to eat crow when they won the championship.

   She said the project would fail, but when it succeeded she ate crow in front of everyone.

   I told my boss I was right about the numbers, but I had to eat crow when the audit showed I was wrong.

Common combinations

have to eat crow

When the forecast was completely wrong, the weather presenter had to eat crow on live TV.

eat crow in public

The politician ate crow in public after his prediction about the election turned out false.

make someone eat crow

The critics were made to eat crow when the film became a huge hit.

Synonyms and how they differ

admit defeat

This is more neutral and formal; 'eat crow' adds a strong sense of humiliation.

back down

This means to stop opposing someone, but it does not necessarily mean admitting you were wrong.

swallow your pride

This focuses on the personal feeling of embarrassment rather than the public admission of error.

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “eat crow”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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