一日一成语【80】sour grapes

sour grapes

如果把这个成语直译成汉语，我想你也会理解它的含意的，因为“酸葡萄”这一带有特殊意味的说法已被汉语吸收了。这个成语源出于一个著名的伊索寓言。传说一个大热天，一只狐狸又热又渴，它一抬头，正好看到了葡萄藤上结着一串又大又熟的葡萄。狐狸想去摘，但个子不够高，连续跳了几次，仍然摘不到。它无可奈何，只能悻悻离去，自我安慰地说道：“那葡萄是酸的，我才不要吃呢!”：

She said that Jane’s new coat was old-fashioned and not worth the money she had paid for it. I think it is a case of sour grapes because I know she had been longing for such a coat all the time.
她说简的新大衣式样陈旧，不值得她付出的钱。我看她是买不起才这么说的，因为我知道她一直想要一件这样的大衣。

John said he was more interested in the competition itself than in the prize. Obviously it was sour grapes to him.
约翰说他对比赛本身比对奖品更感兴趣，很明显，对他来说，奖品是可望而不可及的东西。