happamia, sanoi kettu pihlajanmarjoista

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Finnish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Literally, they're sour, said the fox about the rowanberries. Ultimately of the same origin as with English sour grapes (see it for more); referring to rowanberries instead of grapes is calqued from Swedish (compare Swedish surt sa räven om rönnbären).

Proverb[edit]

happamia, sanoi kettu pihlajanmarjoista

  1. those who cannot obtain things become jealous of them; sour grapes