ProverbWisdom
English origin
English origin"Sour grapes," as the fox said when he could not reach them.
Meaning: Dismissing something as worthless once you've failed to obtain it masks disappointment through false disdain.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Dutch, and Russian
French: Ils sont trop verts, dit le renard (literally: They are too green (unripe), said the fox)
Spanish: Están verdes, dijo la zorra (literally: They're unripe, said the fox)
Japanese: 酸っぱい葡萄 (Suppai budō) (literally: Sour grapes)
German: Die Trauben sind zu sauer, sagte der Fuchs (literally: The grapes are too sour, said the fox)
Dutch: De druiven zijn zuur, zei de vos (literally: The grapes are sour, said the fox)
Russian: Видит око, да зуб неймёт (Vidit oko, da zub neymyot) (literally: The eye sees it, but the tooth can't reach it)
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