| Backed down |
| Was humbled |
| Was humiliated |
| Expressed regret |
| Admitted an error |
| Admitted wrongness |
| Dined on humble pie |
| Was duly humiliated |
| Suffered humiliation |
| Accepted humiliation |
| Was humbled publicly |
| Had to admit an error |
| Retracted one's words |
| Retracted reluctantly |
| Swallowed one's pride |
| Humbled oneself, perhaps |
| Had a slice of humble pie |
| Recanted in embarrassment |
| Admitted fault, informally |
| Had a helping of humble pie |
| Made a humiliating retraction |
| Suffered a blow to one's pride |
| Accepted what one fought against |
| Suffered humiliation, informally |
| Admitted to an embarrassing error |