Shepherd's pie when the potato was being introduced as an edible crop affordable for the poor (cf. "cottage", meaning a modest dwelling for rural workers). The term "shepherd's pie" did not appear until 1854, and was used synonymously with cottage pie, regardless of whether the meat was beef or mutton. In the United Kingdom, the term "shepherd's pie" is now commonly used when the meat is lamb. In early cookery books, the dish was a means of using leftover roasted meat of any kind, and the pie dish was lined on the sides and bottom with mashed potato, as well as having
Humble pie Humble pie To eat humble pie, in common usage, is to face humiliation and subsequently apologize for a serious mistake. Humble pie, or umble pie, is also a term for a variety of pastries based on medieval meat pies. The expression derives from umble pie, a pie filled with the chopped or minced parts of a beast's 'pluck' – the heart, liver, lungs or 'lights' and kidneys, especially of deer but often other meats. Umble evolved from numble (after the French nomble), meaning 'deer's innards'. It has occasionally been suggested that 'umbles' were considered inferior food and that in medieval