sour

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.

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.

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.

A tart variety of cherry. I can't stand sour cherries, so these better be sweet ones!

An unpleasant sensation that typically includes gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, indigestion, and bloating. The phrase can be used with or without an article preceeding 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.

Fig. to turn bad or unpleasant. It looks like all my plans are going sour. My whole life is going sour right now.

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.

Fig. 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.

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.

if you say that something someone says is sour grapes, you mean that they said it because they are jealous I don't think it's such a great job - and that's not just sour grapes because I didn't get it.

Disparaging what one cannot obtain, as in The losers' scorn for the award is pure sour grapes. This expression alludes to the Greek writer Aesop's famous fable about a fox that cannot reach some grapes on a high vine and announces that they are sour. In English the fable was first recorded in William Caxton's 1484 translation, "The fox said these raisins be sour."

Become disenchanted with, take a dislike to, as in At first they liked the new supervisor, but now they've soured on her. [c. 1860]