eat one's heart out
English
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eat one's heart out
Where it comes from
Disputed. Three schools of thought exist:
* From "This will eat your heart out.", suggesting that the recipient of the taunt will have their heart, the core of their being, eaten out with desire, bitterness, or pain.
* From the 16th century "to eat one's own heart" (to suffer in silence from anguish or grief), possibly from the Bible "to eat one's own flesh" (to be lazy). The phrase "to eat one's heart out" appears as a formulaic phrase in the Iliad, meaning to experience extreme grief. (For instance, Iliad.24.128, and many other locations.)
* When used as the taunt "Eat your heart out, [someone]!" a suggestion that the recipient of the taunt "eat up" as much as they like. Figuratively more akin to "experience me besting you."
verb eats one's heart out · eating one's heart out · ate one's heart out · eaten one's heart out
- To feel overwhelming sorrow, jealousy, or longing; to grieve. The Brazilians are eating their hearts out over their defeat by Germany in the World Cup.
Translations
Every language
verb feel overwhelming negative emotion
| 中文 | 傷心 /伤心 shāngxīn |
|---|---|
| Português | morrer de inveja |
| Français | se ronger le cœur |
| Deutsch | vor Neid erblassen |
| Italiano | rodersi il fegato |
| Română | muri de ciudă, crăpa de ciudă, băga unghia în gât |
| Русский | горева́ть gorevátʹ, печа́литься pečálitʹsja |
| עברית | אכל את הלב |
Talk about this word "eat one's heart out." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/eat%20one's%20heart%20out. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. eat one's heart out. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/eat%20one's%20heart%20out "eat one's heart out." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/eat%20one's%20heart%20out.Cite this
@misc{eat_one_s_heart_out_2026,
title = {eat one's heart out},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/eat%20one's%20heart%20out},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
