the fox, when he cannot reach the grapes, says they are not ripe
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Describes someone expressing discontent or disparagement towards something unattainable
Literally: a fox complaining about grapes it can't reach
Examples
He said the new job wasn't a good fit, but really, the fox, when he cannot reach the grapes, says they are not ripe
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “the fox, when he cannot reach the grapes, says they are not ripe” mean?
Describes someone expressing discontent or disparagement towards something unattainable Literally: a fox complaining about grapes it can't reach
Is “the fox, when he cannot reach the grapes, says they are not ripe” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.