Sour grapes?
(負け惜しみかい?)
BBCドラマ「SHERLOCK」連動のホームズのブログ The Science of Deduction の中でのホームズとワトスンのやりとり。自分に用がある人は(アクセスの少ない)自分のブログじゃなくて(今や人気ブログとなった)ジョンのブログに連絡してくれ、と書き込むホームズ。「ブログの更新にはあまり意味がないようだから」と、しれっというホームズに、ワトスンがこう声をかけ、すかさずホームズにShut up!と言われる。
- Sour grapes:すっぱいブドウは「負け惜しみ」のこと。イソップ寓話がもとらしい。以前英会話クラスでも出てきてメモしてた表現(08/8/25) 。「負け惜しみ」という日本語だけ見ると漠然としているけど、英英辞書でニュアンスを見てみると、本当は欲しいけど手に入れられないものを「そんなものいらないやい!」って言う感じ。(used to say that someone is pretending that they dislike something because they want it but cannot have it - used to show disapproval/ unfair criticism that comes from someone who is disappointed about not getting something/used to show that you think someone is jealous and is pretending that something is not important/If you describe someone's behaviour or opinion as sour grapes, you mean that they are angry because they have not got or achieved something that they wanted/something that one cannot have and so disparages as if it were never desirable/if you say that something someone says is sour grapes, you mean that they said it because they are jealous)
- His remarks are nothing but sour grapes.
- He said he didn't want the job anyway, but that's just sour grapes.
- I don't think it's such a great job - and that's not just sour grapes because I didn't get it.
- What does Sabine mean, she didn't want to win the art competition!? She spent ages doing her project! I think it's just sour grapes on her part. She's jealous, because someone else won instead of her.