Is there a word or a concise expression to describe 'a person who pretends not to want an object they truly desire'?
According to Wikipedia, accismus 'is a form of irony wherein a person pretends not to want an object they truly desire,' but, I wonder, what is 'a person who pretends not to want an object they truly desire' called — i.e., someone feigning an absence of interest in that which they keenly desire?
While I cannot understand English proverbs, it seems that "fie upon hens, quoth the fox because he could not reach them" could be appropriate in cases like this one, but I would like to know a single word or a concise expression to describe that person, rather than the situation.
Thus, my question is: Is there a word or a concise expression to describe 'a person who pretends not to want an object they truly desire'?
Solution 1:
Someone like you described could be feigning indifference (though this can also be used for a variety of reasons such as feigning indifference to being snubbed, being the subject of gossip, etc.):
feign /feɪn/ vb
to put on a show of (a quality or emotion); pretend: to feign innocence
(transitive) to make up; invent: to feign an excuse
(transitive) to copy; imitate
Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French feindre to pretend, from Latin fingere to form, shape, invent
indifference /ɪnˈdɪfrəns -fərəns/ n
the fact or state of being indifferent; lack of care or concern
lack of quality; mediocrity
lack of importance; insignificance
Solution 2:
OP's specific example isn't really a known "proverb" to most native speakers, but many of us are familiar with the related sour grapes from Aesop's fables. Because the fox can't reach the higher-up grapes, he says they're "sour" (so he doesn't want them anyway, and he's lost nothing of value).
I'm not sure there's a specific term for a person exhibiting this behaviour, but sour grapes is sufficiently well-known that it's sometimes adapted, as in He's a sour grape (which I understand as meaning He habitually disparages things he doesn't/can't have).