humble pie

References to humble pie, (originally also known as "Umble Pie"), are most commonly found nowadays in the phrase "to eat humble pie", meaning to display humility.

Traditionally, "humble pie" was an actual dish which was commonly eaten in Britain hundreds of years ago and came to the fore as a Christmas tradition in the 17th Century. In those days, the word "humble, (or "umble"), referred to animal offal. While the lord and lady of the house would be dining on the finest cuts of meat, for example, the servants downstairs would bake "humble pie" made from the internal organs of the slaughtered animal. Thus, the association of the phrase "humble pie" with lowliness and self-effacement.

The meaning of the phrase "to eat humble pie" - to humble oneself, to apologize or abase oneself profoundly - was originally a play on words, a jocular substitution of "humble" for "umble," wherein the meaning of humble was retained.

"Umble pie" was (is?) a dish made of the edible organs of an animal, usually a deer. The umbles were considered to be a delicacy, although some thought them to be fit only for menials. Umble Pie got mixed reviews; some households treasured it, but James Russell Lowell, in 1864, said the following:

"Disguise it as you will, flavor it as you will, call it what you will, umble-pie is umble-pie, and nothing else."

On a side note, "umble" is one of a number of English words which originally had an initial "n". Thus, just as an apron was originally called a napron, adder (the type of snake) originally nadder, so umble was originally numble. There would have been no point to the joke then, without an initial vowel to which an "h" might be applied.

See also below the salt.

Also a popular English rock group formed in 1969 by Peter Frampton and Steve Marriott, the man who brought you Itchycoo Park. Their first two albums sounded like typical British light psychadelic and weren't all that interesting.

After Dee Anthony became their manager, H.P. opted for a harder blues based rock, maybe even borderline heavy metal sound. Their most famous song "Thirty Days In the Hole" is a prime example of this, and is sadly underplayed on classic rock radio today.

Unfortunately, Frampton left shortly thereafter to enjoy a very lucrative (well, at least one live album) career and the pie was never the same.

Albums include:

As Safe As Yesterday Is

Town And Country

Rockin' The Fillmore

Smokin'

Eat It

Thunderbox

Street Rats

On To Victory

Go For The Throat