sour grapes
2017.08.09
Meaning:
‘Sour grapes’ means ‘being negative about something because you cannot have it’. It comes from an Aesop story, ‘The Fox and the Grapes’. In this story, a fox tries to reach some delicious-looking grapes. When he cannot reach them, he changes his attitude and says, ‘Stupid grapes. They were probably sour (ie not good).’ This is an expression to use when people give up too easily and have a bad attitude about it.
Example:
A: John just told me he doesn’t want to work with Amanda because he doesn’t like her. But she is lovely. What is the problem?
B: It’s just sour grapes. John asked Amanda to go on a date and she refused.
A: I didn’t get the job. I don’t care. It’s a stupid company anyway.
B: Be careful. That sounds like sour grapes…
Talking Point(s):
Do you say ‘sour grapes’ in Japanese?
大人からの英会話getgo 西船橋・荻窪・津田沼・本八幡