| The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002. |
| |
| “The Fox and the Grapes” |
| |
| |
| One of Aesop’s fables. A fox tries many times to pluck some grapes that dangle invitingly over his head, but he cannot reach them. As he slinks away in disgust, he says, “Those grapes are probably sour anyway.” | 1 |
| ‡ “Sour grapes” refers to things that people decide are not worth having only after they find they cannot have them. | 2 |
| |
| | | The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
|
|
