the fox and the grapes
Preserved but no longer current.
"It's a case of the fox and the grapes" is said of one who wants something badly but cannot obtain it, and so tries to create the impression that he doesn't want it at all. The allusion is to one of ^Esop's fables. See GRAPES.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “the fox and the grapes” mean?
"It's a case of the fox and the grapes" is said of one who wants something badly but cannot obtain it, and so tries to create the impression that he doesn't want it at all. The allusion is to one of ^Esop's fables. See GRAPES.
Is “the fox and the grapes” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.