nurse a grudge

Idioms  

1. Bear resentment for a long time, as in We don't know why Karl looks so angry; I think he's nursing a grudge against the family. This expression uses nurse in the sense of “foster a feeling,” a usage dating from the mid-1700s.

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Example Sentences

Everyone knows what it’s like to nurse a grudge; sensible people know how to get over one.

From Washington Post • May 24, 2022

But Ms. Franklin’s willingness to nurse a grudge or prolong a feud wasn’t a flaw.

From New York Times • Aug. 20, 2021

His father, especially, seemed to nurse a grudge.

From Washington Post • Oct. 27, 2017

Perhaps this is just wishful thinking that I didn’t hurt a girl so badly she’d nurse a grudge for over 40 years.

From Slate • Jun. 13, 2016

“She’d feel bad, an’ that wouldn’t pay any more’n it does to nurse a grudge.

From A Hero of Ticonderoga by Robinson, Rowland E.