sour grapes: meaning & examples

Meanings:

• 1.

  WorldwideinformalneutralMachine
  • A dismissive attitude or expressed contempt toward something one cannot have, often masking envy or disappointment.

  Examples

  Beta

  • When she couldn’t get the promotion, her sour grapes attitude was obvious in her comments.

    Cuando no pudo obtener el ascenso, su actitud de uvas amargas fue evidente en sus comentarios.

  • His sour grapes about the award show made everyone uncomfortable at the party.

    Su actitud de uvas amargas sobre la entrega de premios incomodó a todos en la fiesta.

  • Despite failing the audition, he dismissed the competition as inferior—classic sour grapes.

    A pesar de no pasar la audición, desestimó a la competencia como inferior—clásicas uvas amargas.

  • She claimed she didn’t want the prize anyway, but it was clear she was just sour grapes.

    Ella afirmó que no quería el premio de todos modos, pero estaba claro que solo era una actitud de uvas amargas.

• 2.

  WorldwideinformalMachine
  • A remark or series of remarks that display such contempt or rationalization after a failure or rejection.

  Examples

  Beta

  • After being rejected from the team, his sour grapes remarks about the coach’s choices were hard to ignore.

    Después de ser rechazado del equipo, sus comentarios de uvas amargas sobre las decisiones del entrenador fueron difíciles de ignorar.

  • Her sarcastic sour grapes about the competition’s fairness revealed her disappointment.

    Sus comentarios sarcásticos de uvas amargas sobre la justicia de la competencia revelaron su decepción.

  • The politician’s sour grapes after losing the election were evident in his bitter speeches.

    Las quejas de uvas amargas del político después de perder la elección fueron evidentes en sus discursos amargos.

• 3.

  Human · Idiomatically
  • Things that somebody pretends to despise or puts down because he/she cannot obtain or have.