(as) sour as vinegar
Particularly unpleasant, disagreeable, peevish, or ill-tempered. After such a broken night of sleep, I woke up feeling as sour as vinegar. Her words were sour as vinegar when she greeted us. The baby must be teething because she's been sour as vinegar all day.
end on a sour note
To conclude (something) with some particularly unfortunate, unpleasant, or disagreeable piece of news, information, or conversation. The firing of our head coach really ended our football season on a sour note. The CEO's speech at the Annual General Meeting ended on quite a sour note when he announced that there would be company-wide pay cuts and layoffs. Despite my hard work all year, I wasn't nominated for any awards, so my academic career ended on a fairly sour note.
finish on a sour note
To conclude (something) with some particularly unfortunate, unpleasant, or disagreeable piece of news, information, or conversation. The firing of our head coach really finished our football season on a sour note. The CEO's speech at the Annual General Meeting ended on quite a sour note when he announced that there would be company-wide pay cuts and layoffs. A: "You thought the concert ended on a sour note?" B: "Well, yeah—they didn't even do my favorite song as part of the encore!"
go sour
To become unpleasant or troubling. Those two are bickering all the time now—I hope their relationship hasn't gone sour. Don’t bring up politics unless you want things to go sour real fast! You two have a great product and stand to make a lot of money, so don't let your business partnership go sour over a few misunderstandings.
hit a sour note
To indicate, introduce, or allude to something particularly unfortunate, unpleasant, or disagreeable. News of my father's passing hit quite a sour note before my graduation ceremony. No one in the family brought attention to David's drinking problem until it started hitting a sour note at their holiday get-togethers. We weren't having a good season, no, but it really hit a sour note when our beloved coach got fired.
leave a sour taste in (one's) mouth
To have a persistent negative effect on someone after an offending incident has ended. I know Kelly's your friend, but she was so rude at dinner—it just left a sour taste in my mouth. Of course Andrew not inviting me to his party leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
sound a sour note
To be or come across as negative or pessimistic, especially in way that ruins or dampens the experience of others. A: "We just had our best quarterly sales figure in years!" B: "I don't mean to sound a sour note, but we'll need much better numbers than that to save the company." A: "Your steak was only OK?" B: "Yeah. I mean, I don't like sounding a sour note, but it cost nearly $50, so you expect it to be the best dang steak of your life!"
sour cherry
A tart variety of cherry. I can't stand sour cherries, so these better be sweet ones!
sour grapes
Criticism or disparagement of that which one cannot have. The phrase originated in one of Aesop's fables, in which a fox that cannot reach some grapes deems them sour and therefore undesirable. He always mocks sports cars as being really impractical, but it's just sour grapes, if you ask me.
sour note
A particularly unfortunate, unpleasant, or disagreeable topic of news, information, or conversation. News of my father's passing hit quite a sour note before my graduation ceremony. The CEO's speech at the Annual General Meeting ended on quite a sour note when he announced that there would be company-wide pay cuts and layoffs.
sour on (someone or something)
To become less happy or enthusiastic about someone or something; to begin to dislike or be repelled by someone or something, especially someone or something that had been liked or favored. I was really interested in film studies when I first got into college, but I soured on it after I started encountering the obnoxious, elitist types of people who specialize in that field. I don't know why, but John always sours on the women he dates after only a couple of weeks.
sour stomach
An unpleasant sensation that typically includes gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, indigestion, and bloating. The phrase can be used with or without an article preceding it. Bill has a sour stomach now after eating all that spicy food at dinner. I have sour stomach a lot, so I always keep antacids with me.
sourpuss
1. A very grumpy, scowling, ill-tempered expression, especially one in which the nose is wrinkled up and the mouth turned down in a frown. His face contorted into an awful sourpuss as he read the review of his performance in the play. What's with all the sourpusses in here? I know we lost, we put up a heck of a fight against the top team in the country!
2. Someone wearing such an expression or having such a mood. Don't be such a sourpuss, Glen. It's not the worst thing that could have happened! I thought the boss was an awful sourpuss when I first started working here, but she's actually really friendly and approachable.
strike a sour note
To indicate, introduce, or allude to something particularly unfortunate, unpleasant, or disagreeable. You definitely struck a sour note when you brought up Dan's ex-girlfriends during your best man speech.
sweet-and-sour
1. Containing sugary and acidic ingredients blended together. I've had the same bottle of sweet-and-sour sauce in my cupboard for the last five years. These sweet-and-sour gummies are delicious, but they'll give you a stomach ache if you eat too many!
2. Cooked in or with a sauce containing blended sugar and vinegar. Usually in reference to Chinese and Chinese-style cuisine. Personally, I think the sweet-and-sour chicken is the best thing they serve here. Have you tried Sarah's sweet-and-sour dumplings? They're absolutely delicious!
the grapes are sour
Said in conjunction with criticism or disparagement of that which one cannot have. The phrase originated in one of Aesop's fables, in which a fox that cannot reach some grapes deems them sour and therefore undesirable. A: "Now that he didn't get the part, he's saying that he didn't really want it to begin with." B: "Oh, sure. The grapes are sour now."
the grapes are sour anyway
Criticism or disparagement of that which one cannot have or achieve. The phrase originated in one of Aesop's fables, in which a fox that cannot reach some grapes deems them sour and therefore undesirable, rather than admitting that he has failed. He always mocks sports cars as being really impractical, but I think he's just sick with envy. The grapes are sour anyway, if you catch my drift. The senator's remarks about the bill turned vitriolic after her rider was rejected. She seems to be saying that the grapes are sour anyway.
turn sour
To become unpleasant or troubling. Those two are bickering all the time now—I hope their relationship hasn't turned sour. Don’t bring up politics unless you want things to turn sour real fast!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
go sour
Fig. to turn bad or unpleasant. It looks like all my plans are going sour. My whole life is going sour right now.
*sour as vinegar
1. [of something] very sour. (*Also: as ~.) This milk is as sour as vinegar. The juice they gave us is sour as vinegar.
2. [of someone] ill-natured and disagreeable. (Fig. on {2}. *Also: as ~.) The old man greeted us ill-naturedly, his face as sour as vinegar. Jill: Is Mary in a bad mood today? Jane: Yes, sour as vinegar.
sour grapes
Fig. something that one cannot have and so disparages as if it were never desirable. of course you want to buy this expensive jacket. Criticizing it is just sour grapes, but you still really want it.
strike a sour note
and hit a sour noteFig. to signify something unpleasant. Jane's sad announcement struck a sour note at the annual banquet. News of the accident hit a sour note in our holiday celebration.
sweet and sour
a combination of fruity sweet and sour, but not necessarily salty, flavors. (Typically referring to certain Chinese-American foods.) I prefer sweet-and-sour pork to anything else on the menu. Alice does not care for sweet-and-sour dishes, but she will usually eat whatever we serve her.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.