Word.ws English Dictionary

the proof of the pudding is in the eating

the proof of the pudding is in the eating proverb: one can only claim that something is a success after it has been tried out or used.

Proverb

the proof of the pudding is in the eating

  1. One can only claim that something is a success after it has been tried out or used.
    • I know you didn't think it was a very good product, but just look at the fantastic sales figures. That's the proof of the pudding.
    • Mrs. Atkins—Say what you've a mind to, Kate, the proof of the puddin's in the eatin'; and you can't deny that things have been goin' from bad to worse ever since your husband died two years back.1920, Eugene O'Neill, Beyond the Horizon: A Play in Three Acts, New York: Boni and Liveright, pages 68–9

Forms of the proof of the pudding is in the eating

alternative formthe proof is in the pudding
alternative formproof of the pudding
alternative form (rare)the proof is in the eating

Origin of the proof of the pudding is in the eating

First attested in William Camden's Remaines of a Greater Worke, Concerning Britaine (1605) as “All the proofe of a pudding, is in the eating.”

Questions about the proof of the pudding is in the eating

What does the proof of the pudding is in the eating mean?
The proof of the pudding is in the eating means one can only claim that something is a success after it has been tried out or used.
What part of speech is the proof of the pudding is in the eating?
The proof of the pudding is in the eating is a proverb.

Words near the proof of the pudding is in the eating in the dictionary

  1. The Ponds
  2. the poop out of
  3. the poor we will always have with us
  4. the proof is in the eating
  5. the proof is in the pudding
  6. the proof of the pudding is in the eating
  7. the proverbial dog that caught the car
  8. the purpose of a system is what it does
  9. the quality
  10. the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
  11. the rabbit died

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: the proof of the pudding is in the eating (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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