General (General discussion, talk about anything.)
"humble pie. Here we have a play upon words which dates back to the time of William the Conqueror. First, the pie referred to in 'eating humble pie' was really umble pie, made from the umbles - heart, liver and gizzard - of a deer. It was made to be eaten by servants and huntsmen, while the lord of the manor and his guests dined on venison. Thus a person who had to eat umble pie was in a position of inferiority -- one who had to humble himself before his betters. The pun resulting from umble and humble is even more precise when you recall that in several British dialects - notably Cockney - the h in humble would be silent. Actually, the two words come from quite different roots, humble from the Latin 'humilis'(low or slight), and 'umbie' from the Latin 'lumulus' (loin)."
Replied: 17th Dec 2010 at 11:49