sour grapes

Meaning

This phrase refers to an attitude where someone pretends to despise or criticize something they actually want, simply because they cannot have it. It comes from Aesop's fable about a fox who could not reach some high-hanging grapes and claimed they were probably sour anyway.

Examples

• He said he didn't want the promotion anyway, but it sounds like sour grapes to me.

  He said he didn't want the promotion anyway, but it sounds like sour grapes to me.

• Her negative comments about his new car are just sour grapes because she can't afford one.

  Her negative comments about his new car are just sour grapes because she can't afford one.

• Dismissing the award as meaningless after losing is a classic case of sour grapes.

  Dismissing the award as meaningless after losing is a classic case of sour grapes.

• I try not to let my disappointment turn into sour grapes when things don't go my way.

  I try not to let my disappointment turn into sour grapes when things don't go my way.

• Calling the party boring just because you weren't invited is pure sour grapes.

  Calling the party boring just because you weren't invited is pure sour grapes.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ He has a sour grape about the situation.

  ✓ His attitude is just sour grapes.

  The phrase is almost always plural ('grapes') and functions as an uncountable noun phrase representing an attitude.

• ✗ She is very sour grapes today.

  ✓ She is showing sour grapes today.

  You do not use 'sour grapes' as an adjective directly describing a person's state; instead, say they 'have' or 'show' sour grapes.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Saying the prize wasn't worth winning after you lost is just ___.

  💡 An attitude of pretending to dislike what you cannot have.

  Show answer

  sour grapes

• Don't listen to his criticism of your new house; it's just ___.

  💡 Two words, named after a fruit in a famous fable.

  Show answer

  sour grapes