What does it mean?
We often belittle what we cannot have. It is said about someone who pretends not to want something they failed to get.
Closest English saying: Sour grapes.
What does it literally say?
Όσα δεν φτάνει η αλεπού τα κάνει κρεμαστάρια
Ósa den ftáni i alepoú ta káni kremastária
“Whatever the fox cannot reach, she calls “hanging fruit”.”
The image is thematically linked to Aesop’s fable of the fox and the grapes; the Greek wording is not a verbatim quotation from a particular edition. «Κρεμαστάρια» are fruit or grapes hung up out of reach.
How is it used?
“He didn’t get the job and then said he never wanted it. Whatever the fox cannot reach…”
Other ways Greeks say it
- Ό,τι δεν φτάνει η αλεπού, το κάνει κρεμαστάρι
Where does it come from?
Traditional Greek folk usage. eipane has not documented a first author or a first written record for this saying.
This is an English edition of the Greek entry, which remains the reference version. The English text was written from the Greek entry with the help of AI tools and checked against it. Suggest a correction ↗