1. to eat humble pie -- to admit your error and apologize. After his candidate had lost the election , the boastful campaign manager had to eat humble pie. 2. a pig in a poke -- an item you purchase without having seen it.a disappointment. The mail order bicycle that my nephew bought turned out to be a pig in a poke ,and he is now trying to get his money back. 3. a flash in the pan -- promising at the start but then disappointing. The new player hit many runs in practice but when the cricket season began he proved to be a flash in the pan.