The Fox and the Grapes

If something, especially a noise, sets your teeth on edge, it annoys you very much

That DJ's voice really sets my teeth on edge.

Mildred's singing set his teeth on edge.

Ezekiel 18:2 (New International Version) "The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." Even there, it is cited as a proverb, so who knows where it began?

To set the teeth on edge, to cause a disagreeable tingling sensation in the teeth, as by bringing acids into contact with them.

Idiom Definitions for 'Sour grapes'

When someone says something critical or negative because they are jealous, it is a case of sour grapes.

sour grapes

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

I don't think it's such a great job - and that's not just sour grapes because I didn't get it.

Meaning

Acting meanly after a disappointment.

Origin

In the fable The Fox and the Grapes, which is attributed to the ancient Greek writer Aesop, the fox isn't able to reach the grapes and declares them to be sour - "the grapes are probably sour anyway!".

" Sour grapes "

Idiom Meaning - To decide that the attainment of something you have been trying to get is not worth it after all and probably inferior in quality anyway.

(From Aesop's Fable: The Fox and the Grapes)