(China idiom)

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[Explanation] The original meaning is sour plums. People who want to eat plums will drool and quench their thirst. Metaphorically, after the wish can't be realized, comfort yourself with fantasy.

[Source] This idiom comes from Liu Yiqing's "Shi Shuo Xin Yu Fake Money" in the Southern Song Dynasty: "Wei Wu went to war, lost his way, and all the three armies were thirsty, so he said:" There was a great Meilin before, so I forgave my son, and it was sweet and sour to quench my thirst. "When the foot soldiers smell it, they can get the source with their mouths full of water."