Definition of sour grapes in the Idioms Dictionary. sour grapes phrase. What does sour grapes expression mean? Definitions by the largest Idiom. The government says that Mr Fedorov's criticisms are mere sour grapes. Note: In one of Aesop's fables = traditional. sour grapes; sour note; sour on; sour on someone or something sour stomach. Sour Grapes an Aesop Fable A very hungry fox walked into a vineyard where there was an ample supply of luscious looking grapes. Grapes had never looked so good, and the fox was famished. However, the grapes hung higher than the fox could reach. In an old fable by Aesop, a hungry fox noticed a bunch of juicy grapes hanging from a vine. After several failed attempts to reach the grapes, the fox gave up and insisted that he didn't want them anyway because they were probably sour. Nowadays when somebody expresses sour grapes, it means that they put down something simply because they can't.

What's the meaning of the phrase 'Sour grapes'? Acting meanly after a disappointment. What's the origin of the phrase 'Sour grapes'? In the fable The Fox and the Grapes, which is attributed to the ancient Greek writer Aesop, the fox isn't able to reach the grapes and declares them to be sour. The Aesop's fable where the fox said that the grapes that he couldn't reach were sour, just because he couldn't reach them might be related to a sour grape attitude. A: A sour grapes attitude is when there is nothing sweet about you at that moment. You are bitter and no matter what anyone else does or says, you remain bitter.

A hungry fox noticed a juicy bunch of grapes growing high on a grapevine. He leaped. He snapped. Drooling, he jumped to reach them, but try as he might, he could not obtain the tasty prize. Disappointed by the fruitless efforts he'd made to get the grapes that day, he said, with a shrug, to comfort himself, "Oh, they were probably sour anyway!". Again and again he tried after the tempting morsel, but at last had to give it up, and walked away with his nose in the air, saying: “I am sure they are sour.” It is easy to despise what you cannot get.