I have a book that once belonged to my father. Published sometime in the 1930s, it is literally falling apart at the seams; but its content, even though far older than the book itself, remains fresh and relevant today.

Historical references to the collection of tales known as Aesop’s Fables date back to 2500 years ago. Many of the lessons of these fables have become parts of everyday speech. “Quality, not quantity,” “honesty is the best policy,” “pride goes before a fall,” “don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched,” “necessity is the mother of invention,” “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,” “slow and steady wins the race” – these and many other common expressions have come down through the ages to us from Aesop’s Fables.

One expression that has seen an increase in popularity recently is “sour grapes,” which refers to the fable, “The Fox and the Grapes,” reproduced below from my father’s old book:

A fox, feeling very hungry, made his way to a vineyard nearby, where he knew he would find a plentiful supply of grapes. The season had been a good one, and he licked his lips when he saw the huge bunches hanging from the vine. His joy was short-lived, however; for, try as he would, the grapes were just out of his reach. At last, tired by his vain efforts, he turned away in disgust, remarking, “Anyone who wants them may have them for me. They are too green and sour for my palate. I would not touch them even if they were given to me.”
Moral: It is a mean nature which affects to dislike that which it is unable to obtain.

Now, you may be surprised to discover that you’ve heard the term “sour grapes” used incorrectly so often, but it is a fact. When someone says something like, “Your team cheated in the playoff game,” or “Your candidate won because the election was rigged against mine,” these are not situations where “sour grapes” applies; they are examples of someone being a sore loser. “Sour grapes” would sound quite different. If a football fan from Atlanta, dressed from head to toe in Atlanta Falcons gear, carrying a Falcons banner, with a tattoo of the team’s logo on their forehead, were to say, in the minutes following the Falcons’ loss of Super Bowl LI to the New England Patriots, “The Super Bowl is stupid. Who cares that the Falcons didn’t win? I certainly don’t,” that would be an example of “sour grapes.” That same fan maniacally shrieking “Cheatriots shoulda lost!” would be an example of… something else entirely.

The difference between “sore loser” and “sour grapes” is easy to understand. Sore losers acknowledge placing a high value on the prize they sought, and they unfairly blame their failure on something other than themselves. With “sour grapes,” the failing party pretends to have had no interest in succeeding in the first place, and denigrates the prize itself as unworthy of their desire.

So now, the next time you hear “sour grapes” used incorrectly, you’ll know better. But there’s a larger issue to consider as well: if the meaning of the fable of “The Fox and the Grapes,” a fable that’s been around for at least 2500 years, can be so commonly misunderstood today, should we worry that we are losing our connection with a source of wisdom that has informed the past 100 generations? And what other sources of wisdom might be out there that we could all benefit from if they were in common use?

In future editions of this column, I’ll explore ways that we can gain a deeper understanding of how the world around us works – business, sports, politics, popular culture, current events, and more. Up first, I’ll share another fable that you’ll most likely recognize, and have some fun using a special kind of diagram to figure out how to deal with the situation in the fable – a diagram that we’ll be able to use again in future columns, too.