swallow (one's) pride
To ignore one's ego in order to do something that one finds humiliating or below one's standards. I don't have any other job offers, so I guess I just have to swallow my pride and accept this entry-level position. You need to swallow your pride and apologize.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
swallow one's pride
Fig. to forget one's pride and accept something humiliating. I had to swallow my pride and admit that I was wrong. When you're trying to master a new skill, you find yourself swallowing your pride quite often.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
swallow one's pride
Humble oneself, as in She decided to swallow her pride and apologize. This idiom employs swallow in the sense of "refrain from expressing," a usage dating from the early 1600s.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
swallow one's pride, to
To humble oneself when circumstances demand it. The verb to swallow has been used in the meaning of putting up with unpleasantness since about 1600. The original locution was to swallow one’s spittle, which denoted suppressing anger or some other strong emotion. It appeared in the Bible, “How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?” (Job 7:19).
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer