Little minds, like weak liquors, are soon soured.

This unflattering generalization portrays people labelled “small-minded” as becoming bitter, resentful, or ill-tempered over slight annoyance or disappointment. It compares their temper to a weak drink that readily turns sour.

The saying implies that a broader outlook brings greater steadiness, while pettiness makes someone readily offended and prone to sour reactions. It is a condemnatory characterization, not a fair assessment of people’s feelings or capacities.

Use it as literary, pointed criticism of someone thought to grow bitter or offended over trivial slights. Because it dismissively labels people as small-minded, it is better suited to rhetorical commentary than to tactful discussion of another person’s feelings.