eat one's own en · VERB
Etymology
Short for eat one's own kind or similar, as certain living organisms do.
Meanings
-
(idiomatic) To turn on and attack members of one's own group or clique.
So, in a way, they sat back and watched liberals eat their own—they watched as just deserts advocates undermined the legitimacy of rehabilitation in a way they never could have.
2016, Francis T. Cullen, Cheryl Lero Jonson, Correctional Theory: Context and Consequences:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ate one's own | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| eats one's own | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| eaten one's own | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| eating one's own | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |