eat one's own

English

Etymology

Short for eat one's own kind or similar, as certain living organisms do.

Verb

eat one's own (third-person singular simple present eats one's own, present participle eating one's own, simple past ate one's own, past participle eaten one's own)

1. (idiomatic) To turn on and attack members of one's own group or clique.
   • 2016, Francis T. Cullen, Cheryl Lero Jonson, Correctional Theory: Context and Consequences:

     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.