A Slice of History

In the Middle AgesIN the Middle Ages, it was the custom in fine houses to hunt deer. The reward for success in the field was a dinner of roast venison; but not all parts of the carcass were prized equally, and the heart, liver, kidneys, and other entrails ended up in pies on the plates of servants in the kitchens. In those far-off days, French was still the language of refinement, and the disdainful Quality called these parts the nombles; but over in the kitchens the grateful ordinary Englishman knew them as the umbles.

No doubt amid much raillery, the umbles also ended up on the plate of any red-faced nobleman who had not distinguished himself during the chase — whatever his boasts in the early morning, he had not done anything to deserve a share in the prize. Over time, ‘eating nombles pie’ turned into ‘eating humble pie’, that is, making a public and shameful admission of error or failure. The Americans, in the same situations, speak of ‘eating crow’.