phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions at

Suck Grapes

Posted by ESC on April 27, 2001

In Reply to: Suck Grapes posted by Kate on April 25, 2001

: Where did the term 'suck grapes' 'suck sour grapes' come from? How was it used? Thanks to all. Kate

I've never heard "suck grapes." (I have heard "sucked on a pickle" or "weaned on a pickle" referring to people of sour disposition.) The term "sour grapes" is from an Aesop's fable.

Things despised because they are beyond our reach. Many men of low degree call titles and dignities "sour grapes;" and men of no parts turn up their noses at literary honours. The phrase is from Aesop's fable called The Fox and the Grapes. www.bartleby.com/ 81/15694.html

The Fox and the Grapes A FAMISHED FOX saw some clusters of ripe black grapes hanging from a trellised vine. She resorted to all her tricks to get at them, but wearied herself in vain, for she could not reach them. At last she turned away, hiding her disappointment and saying: "The grapes are sour, and not ripe as I thought." www.pacificnet.net/~johnr/aesop/

© 1997 – 2024 Phrases.org.uk. All rights reserved.