sour grapes
English
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sour grapes
Where it comes from
From Aesop's fable The Fox and the Grapes, in which a fox, unable to reach grapes it is seeking, convinces itself that they must have been unripe (therefore, sour) all along and so not worth trying for in the first place.
noun
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see sour, grapes.
- Things that somebody pretends to despise because they cannot obtain or have them.
- A putting down or expression of disdain about something that one desires but cannot have. I think his comments about that new car are just sour grapes because he can't afford it.
Translations
Every language
noun acid grapes
| Español | uvas verdes |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | खट्टे अंगूर khaṭṭe aṅgūr |
| Português | uvas verdes |
| Deutsch | saure Traube, unreife Traube, Herling |
| Italiano | uva acerba |
| Ελληνικά | αγουρίδα agourída |
| Română | aguride, struguri acri, struguri verzi |
| Русский | ки́слый виногра́д kíslyj vinográd |
| العربية | حِصْرِم ḥiṣrim |
| עברית | חַרְצָן ḥarṣā́n, בֹּסֶר boser |
noun expression of disdain for something one cannot have
| 日本語 | 負け惜しみ makeoshimi, すっぱい葡萄 suppai budō |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | खट्टे अंगूर khaṭṭe aṅgūr |
| Português | dor de cotovelo |
| Română | struguri acri |
| Русский | зе́лен виногра́д zélen vinográd, за́висть závistʹ, притво́рное равноду́шие pritvórnoje ravnodúšije |
| Tiếng Việt | chùm nho còn xanh |
Talk about this word "sour grapes." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sour%20grapes. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. sour grapes. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sour%20grapes "sour grapes." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sour%20grapes.Cite this
@misc{sour_grapes_2026,
title = {sour grapes},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sour%20grapes},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
