eat one's words

将 eat one's words 译为“食言；背信”，是一种望文生义的译法。汉语的“食言”是指把自己说的话又咽了回去，比喻说话不算数，不守信用。而英语的 eat one's words 和汉语的这个意思是风马牛不相及的。它的实际意思是：admit that what one said was wrong(承认说错话)：

1. I had to eat my words when he turned up on time after all. 当他终于按时出现时,我不得不承认我错了。

2. He said that no one could beat him at tennis, but he had to eat his words after losing several games. 他说打网球没人能赢他，但输了几局后只得收回大话了。