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sour grapes

Sour grapes is the action of making something seem less important after finding out they can't have it.

(noun)

An example of sour grapes is a man saying he didn't want to date a certain woman because she was dumb, after she decided to date someone else.

See sour grapes in Webster's New World College Dictionary

a scorning or belittling of something only because it cannot be had or done

Origin: from Aesop's fable in which the fox, after futile efforts to reach some grapes, scorns them as being sour

See sour grapes in American Heritage Dictionary 4

plural noun

Denial of the desirability of something after one has found out that it cannot be reached or acquired: The losers' scorn for the award is pure sour grapes.

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