Cartoon: Sour Grapes

Cartoon by Jeff Parker of Florida Today published on 17 April 2009.

This cartoon criticizes the Tea Parties taking place all over the United States where demonstrators are protesting against high taxes and wasteful government spending. In the words of the cartoonist,

“I like a good protest (and loathe [exécrer] taxes) as much as the next guy, but I gotta admit, I wasn't all that impressed with Wednesday's rather lackluster (morne) "Tea Parties." Where was all the protesting about obscene government spending the last eight years? Seemed more like most were boiled-over more about Obama than taxes. IMO the whole thing smacked of (sentir) sour grapes.”

Sour grapes is an idiomatic expression that comes from Aesop’s story about the fox that could not reach the grapes he wanted to eat and thus announces that they are sour. In other words, sour grapes is the disparaging of something unattainable. The cartoonist wants to say that the protestors are simply angry because their party lost the election and is no longer in power.

IMO = In my opinion