| 释义 |
▪ I. lemon, n.1|ˈlɛmən|
Forms: 5–7 lymon, 6 leman, lemonde, limone, pl. lemmanz, 6–7 lemmon, limmon, 6–8 limon, 7 leamon(d, leimon, lemond, 7– lemon.
[ad. F. limon (now restricted to the lime; formerly of wider application) = Sp. limon, Pg. limão, It. limone, med.L. limōn-em, related to F. lime: see lime n.2 The words are prob. of Oriental origin: cf. Arab. laimūn, Pers. līmūn, Arab. līmah, collective līm, fruits of the citron kind, Skr. nimbū the lime.]
1. a. An ovate fruit with a pale yellow rind, and an acid juice. Largely used for making a beverage and for flavouring. The juice yields citric acid; the rind yields oil or essence of lemons, used in cookery and perfumery.
c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xxi. 98 Þai enoynt þam..with þe ius of þe fruyt þat es called lymons. c1430Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 15 Orengis, almondis, and the pomegarnade, Lymons, datez. 1533Elyot Cast. Helthe (1539) 45 b, The iuyce of orenges or lymons may be taken after meales in a lyttell quantitie. 1575Laneham Let. (1871) 8 Poungarnets, Lemmanz, and Pipinz. 1594Lady Russell in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. i. iii. 46, I..drank..water and limmons, by Phisitions advise. 1645Waller Summer Islands i. 6 That happy Island where huge Lemmons grow. 1660Boyle New Exp. Phys. Mech. ii. (1682) 79, I cut a Limon asunder and put both halfs into two Recievers. 1695Congreve Love for L. iv. xvi, Safer..than Letters writ in Juice of Limon, for no Fire can fetch it out. 1727–46Thomson Summer 664 The lemon and the piercing lime..Their lighter glories blend. 1773Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. i. ii, I'll be with you in the squeezing of a lemon. 1838T. Thomson Chem. Org. Bodies 459 Oil of lemons is extracted from the rind of the lemon. 1870Yeats Nat. Hist. Comm. 180 The scurvy has hardly been known in our navy since limes and lemons were ordered by law to be carried by all vessels sailing to foreign parts.
b. A person with a tart or snappy disposition (quot. 1863). More usually (slang), a simpleton, a loser; a person easily deluded or taken advantage of (see also quot. 1950).
1863P. S. Davis Young Parson xxvii. 222 Mrs. Trimble..had a great deal to say, and no little acrimony in her way of saying it. Indeed, she was what the knowing ones denominated ‘a lemon’. 1908J. M. Sullivan Criminal Slang 21 Sucker or lemon, a victim of criminals and tramps. 1916J. B. Cooper Coo-oo-ee xiv. 208 There was always a danger of offending a man who has been runner-up in a boxing championship if you make him appear ‘like a lemon’. 1931Wodehouse Big Money i. 27, I don't know why it is, rich men's sons are always the worst lemons in creation. 1950Partridge Slang To-day & Yesterday (ed. 3) iii. 313 If she is unpopular, she is a pill, a pickle, a lemon. 1966J. Porter Sour Cream x. 137 Criminal carelessness, that's what it was! Leaving me standing here like a lemon. 1973‘A. Hall’ Tango Briefing i. 17 They'd sent me down to show me something and they knew I couldn't see it and I felt a bit of a lemon.
c. slang (orig. U.S.). Something which is bad or undesirable or which fails to meet one's expectations.
Phr. the answer is a lemon: used to denote that a reply is unsatisfactory or non-existent.
1909Sat. Even. Post 20 Feb. 38/2 The wheel goes around; wherever the little indicator at the point of the pin stops, there is your prize—or your lemon. 1912C. Mathewson Pitching in a Pinch x. 220 The papers were mentioning him as the ‘$11,000 lemon’. 1914‘High Jinks, Jr.’ Choice Slang 14 Lemon, a disappointment. 1922M. Arlen Piracy i. v. 59 ‘What would happen if we went on strike?’.. No one among them..dreamed of answering. The answer was a lemon. 1927Daily Express 13 Dec. 17/1 Middlesbrough seem to have ‘picked a lemon’, for the draw gives them South Shields as opponents. 1930P. MacDonald Link iv. 75 The answer at first seems to be a lemon, but they're at least the sort of questions that make one think. 1931Morning Post 19 June 6 ‘I sold five lemons for {pstlg}210,’ said a witness... ‘Lemon’ was a term used in the trade for second-hand cars of little value. 1959M. T. Williams Art of Jazz (1960) ix. 85 This great record would have been a lemon commercially in 1925. 1961C. Mabee Seaway Story vii. 70 He first politely wished success to New York's lemon, the new twelve-foot Erie Barge Canal. 1963Guardian 21 Jan. 16/6 The French nuclear deterrent..is a military lemon of the first order. 1969N. Freeling Tsing-Boum x. 68 One makes requests through official channels and the answer is a lemon. 1972Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 17 June 7/3 Mechanics are less than delighted to see lines of lemons converging on their service department. 1972Sydney Morning Herald 26 Aug. 1/2 The effect of this on consumers is too many lemons or part lemons coupled with near impossibility of obtaining redress from the manufacturer.
d. Phr. to hand (someone) a lemon: to pass off a sub-standard article as good; to swindle (a person), to do (someone) down.
1906H. Green At Actors' Boarding House 36 Him gettin' handed a lemon in that English act, puts us up. [1922Wodehouse Clicking of Cuthbert x. 233 ‘It did indeed begin to appear as though our beloved monarch..had been handed the bitter fruit of the citron.’ The quaint old idiom is almost untranslateable, but one sees what he means.] 1939E. S. Gardner D.A. draws Circle (1940) vi. 87 The way things are now, I co-operate with them. If they hand me a lemon, I can walk up and down the streets cussing them out for letting politics interfere with the administration of justice. 1970New Yorker 12 Dec. 131/1 These senators felt that the President had handed them two lemons, had gone to the mat for his choices when he didn't have to.
e. slang. The head.
1923Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves i. 13 ‘What might you have missed?’ I asked, the old lemon being slightly clouded. 1952Coast to Coast 195 If you had any brains in that big lemon you'd wipe me. You'd get away.
f. U.S. slang. An informer, one who turns State's evidence (see also quot. 1931).
1931Amer. Speech VI. 439 Lemon, one who testifies for the prosecution. 1935G. Ingram ‘Stir’ Train ii. 30 ‘You think you got the low-down on me: well, see me put it on you!’ ‘You talk like a ‘lemon’!’ 1935A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 70/2 Lemon, one who turns state's evidence.
2. The tree (Citrus Limonum) which bears this fruit, largely cultivated in the South of Europe and elsewhere. Cf. lemon-tree in 7.
1615G. Sandys Trav. (1621) 3 Groues of Oranges, Lemonds, Pomegranates, Fig-trees [etc.].
3. With modifying word prefixed. Applied to plants of different families bearing a yellow fruit. sweet lemon: the Citrus Lumia, cultivated in the South of Europe (Treas. Bot.). water lemon: Passiflora laurifolia of the W. Indies. wild lemon: (a) Podophyllum peltatum; (b) an Australian timber tree (Canthium latifolium).
1756P. Browne Jamaica 328 The Water Lemon. It grows frequent in the woods. 1760J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 317 Water Lemon, Passiflora. 1882Garden 25 Feb. 127/1 The flowers..are succeeded in May by oval yellowish fruits called wild Lemons.
4. The colour of the lemon; pale yellow. More fully lemon-colour.
1796Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) I. 28 [Colours] Lemon or gold yellow—the purest. 1901Speaker 12 Jan. 396/2 The reds and lemons and greens of its [Upsala's] houses..form a charming bouquet of colour.
5. attrib. and Comb.
a. simple attributive, as lemon-bloom, lemon-bush, lemon-colour, lemon-decoction, lemon-flower, lemon-garden, lemon-grove, lemon-hue, lemon-juice, lemon-kernel, lemon-orchard, lemon-peel, lemon-pickle, lemon-pip, lemon-tea, lemon-water; also of things flavoured with oil of lemons or lemon-juice, as lemon-cake, lemon-cheesecake, lemon cordial, lemon-cream, lemon-ice, lemon pie, lemon-pudding, lemon-puff, lemon sauce;
b. instrumental, parasynthetic, and similative, as lemon-coloured, lemon-faced, lemon-flavoured, lemon-scented, lemon-tinted, lemon-yellow adjs.
1820Shelley Fiordispina 47 Rods of myrtle-buds and *lemon-blooms.
1884Leisure Hour Feb. 82/2 Entangled its long fleece in a thorny *lemon-bush.
1769Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 269 To make *Lemon Cake.
1728E. Smith Compleat Housewife (ed. 2) 120 To make *Lemon Cheese-cakes. 1747H. Glasse Cookery xvi. 142 To make Lemon Cheesecakes.
1598Florio, Lemonino, a kinde of *lymond colour. 1707Mortimer Husb. v. xvii. (1708) 128 The Dyers use it [Weld] for dying of bright Yellows and Limon-colours.
1758Reid tr. Macquer's Chem. I. 218 As soon as the Sulphur is melted it will sublime in *lemon-coloured flowers.
1836Mag. Domestic Econ. I. 182 *Lemon cordial.
1747H. Glasse Cookery xvi. 143 *Lemon Cream.
1898P. Manson Trop. Dis. vi. 126 Crudeli speaks highly of *lemon decoction..as a prophylactic [for malaria].
1865M. Arnold Ess. Crit. v. 178 The unfortunate husband of that *lemon-faced woman with the white ruff.
1819Shelley Rosal. & Hel. 1250 Bowers, Of blooming myrtle and faint *lemon-flowers.
1864M. J. Higgins Ess. (1875) 188 The celebrated *lemon-gardens of the old principality.
1830Tennyson Recoll. Arab. Nts. 67 Far off, and where the *lemon grove In closest coverture upsprung.
1845Budd Dis. Liver 125 A jaundice, bearing the lighter tints, from a sallow suffusion to a fainter or more decided *lemon hue.
1617F. Moryson Itin. i. 255 A little Greeke Barke loaded..with tunnes of *Lemons Juyce (which the Turks drinke like Nectar). 1709Lond. Gaz. No. 4584/4 Also 11 pieces of Lemon Juice, neat, an entire Parcel. 1897Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 19 We now can ascribe little or no therapeutic value to the lemon juice treatment first introduced by Owen Rees.
1731Gentl. Mag. I. 40 Sow Orange and *Lemon-kernels in Pots.
1611Florio, Limonáro, a *Lemmon hort-yard. 1875J. H. Bennet Winter Medit. i. i. 13 Even at Palermo..the lemon orchards are protected by walls.
1672Wycherley Love in a Wood iii. ii. 43 Warrant her breath with some *Lemmon Peil. 1694R. L'Estrange Fables cxxxvi. (1714) 152 Never without Limon-Pill in her Mouth, to correct an unsavoury Vapour of her Own. 1900Blackw. Mag. June 815/2 His round face the colour of lemon-peel.
1769Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 73 A tea spoonful of *lemon pickle.
1909A. Arnold Century Cook Bk. Suppl. 584 *Lemon pie. 2 lemons..sugar..butter..4 eggs..corn⁓starch. 1911C. Harris Eve's Second Husband 154 Then you ate lemon pie, pound-cake and boiled custard. 1972J. Potts Trouble-Maker (1973) ii. 10 Their first square meal in three days. Corn and chicken. Homemade relishes. Lemon pie.
1889T. Hardy Mayor Casterbr. i, Grains of wheat, swollen as large as *lemon-pips.
1769Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 309 To make a *Lemon Posset.
1852Reade Peg Woff. (1853) 194 He never failed to eat of a certain *lemon-pudding.
1769Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 277 To make *Lemon Puffs.
1747H. Glasse Art of Cookery ii. 36 To make *Lemon-Sauce for boiled Fowls. 1861Mrs. Beeton Bk. Househ. Managem. 220 (heading) Lemon sauce for boiled fowls. 1948Good Housek. Cookery Bk. i. 15 Something piquant should be served with a dish that is very bland, as..lemon sauce with steamed sponge pudding.
1868Holme Lee B. Godfrey xliii. 234 A bushy *lemon-scented geranium.
1725Watts Logic i. iv. §4 (1822) 64 Tea..is now-a-days become a common name for many infusions of herbs, or plants, in water, as..*limon-tea &c. 1932L. Golding Magnolia St. ii. xi. 425 Reb Feivel sat sucking lemon-tea through a cube of sugar. a1963S. Plath Crossing Water (1971) 62 It'll be lemon-tea for me. 1975Times 8 Feb. 7/4 There is no licence, but the lemon tea is fresh and good.
1897Allbutt's Syst. Med. IV. 288 It is this pigment [urobilin] that causes..the *lemon-tinted skin.
a1625Fletcher Woman's Prize iv. v, If you want *limon-waters, Or anything to take the edge o' th' sea off, Pray speak.
1807T. Thomson Chem. (ed. 3) II. 417 An extraordinary portion of carbon gives..a *lemon-yellow colour. 1900J. Hutchinson Archives Surg. XI. 40 With his pallor was mixed a certain degree of lemon-yellow tint.
6. quasi-adj., short for lemon-coloured. So in names of pigments, lemon cadmium, lemon chrome.
1875J. D. Heath Croquet Player 89 The finest vermilion, ‘drop black’, and ‘lemon chrome’, for red, black, and yellow respectively. 1882Garden 22 July 64/3 The Evening Primrose covers the ground with large pale lemon flowers. 1886York Herald 7 Aug. 8/2 A Lemon and White Setter Dog.
7. a. Special combs.: lemon-balm, the Melissa officinalis (Syd. Soc. Lex. 1888); lemon-bird (see quot.); lemon cheese (curd), lemon curd, a confection made with lemons, butter, eggs, and sugar, and used as a spread or filling; lemon cling U.S., a variety of clingstone peach; lemon-cutting, the feat of cutting in two a suspended lemon with a sword when riding at full speed; lemon-drop, a sugar-plum flavoured with lemon; lemon-game U.S. slang, a type of confidence trick (see quots.); also ellipt. lemon; lemon-grass, a fragrant East Indian grass (Andropogon schœnanthus) yielding the grass oil used in perfumery; also attrib.; lemon-house, a building where lemons are stored; lemon-kali, a mixture of tartaric acid and soda bicarbonate, which when dissolved form an effervescing drink; lemon meringue (pie), an open pie consisting of a pastry case with a lemon filling and a topping of meringue; lemon oil, an essential oil obtained from lemons; lemon-plant (Aloysia citriodora), the so-called lemon-scented verbena; lemon platt, a flat sugar-stick, flavoured with lemon; lemon-rob (see quot.); lemon scurvy grass, the Cochlearia officinalis (Mayne Expos. Lex. 1855); lemon-squash, a drink made from the juice of a lemon, with soda-water, ice, and sometimes sugar; also a liquid preparation sold under this name for mixing with water; lemon-squeezer, (a) an instrument for expressing the juice from a lemon; also fig.; (b) Austral. and N.Z. colloq., a hat with a peaked crown and broad flat brim worn by New Zealand troops; lemon-thyme, a lemon-scented variety of thyme; lemon-tree, (a) = sense 2; (b) = lemon-plant; lemon-verbena = lemon-plant; also lemon-scented verbena; lemon-walnut, ‘the butter-nut (Juglans cinerea), so called on account of its fragrance’ (Cent. Dict.); lemon-weed = sea-mat; lemon-wood, (a) a New Zealand tree, the Tarata; (b) a name for several tropical American trees or their light-coloured wood, esp. the Cuban Calycophyllum candidissimum.
1885Swainson Prov. Names Birds 65 Linnet (Linota cannabina)..*Lemon bird (West Riding). A name given to those male linnets in the breeding season which have a yellowish hue on the breast.
1853G. W. Francis Dict. Pract. Receipts (ed. 3) 211/2 *Lemon cheese curd. 1891R. Wells Mod. Flour Confectioner 101 Lemon cheese. 1909Daily Chron. 17 Aug. 6/4 Boiling lemon cheese over a gas cooking apparatus.
1848Rep. Comm. Patents 1847 (U.S.) 196 Fifteen specimens..of the *lemon cling..measured over a foot in circumference.
1895Army & Navy Co-op. Soc. Price List 17/2 *Lemon curd, for making Cheesecakes. 1948J. Betjeman Sel. Poems 35 Lemon curd and Christmas cake. 1968V. S. Pritchett Cab at Door iii. 36 On Thursday, she made her second baking, concentrating..on..her Eccles cakes, her puffs, her lemon-curd.
1889Daily News 21 June 6/1 In *lemon-cutting the most dexterous performers were [etc.].
1807M. E. Rundell New Syst. Domestic Cookery 203 (caption) *Lemon drop. 1854C. M. Yonge Heartsease II. xiv. 316 Here were some lemon-drops for papa. 1938D. Runyon Furthermore x. 187 A young guy by the name of The Lemon Drop Kid, who is called The Lemon Drop Kid because he always has a little sack of lemon drops in the side pocket of his coat, and is always munching at same.
1908J. M. Sullivan Criminal Slang 15 *Lemon game, defrauding a sucker at a pool game. 1914Jackson & Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 55 Lemon,..a confidence game in which skill at pool is the bait, though its successful negotiation is based upon the dishonesty or avarice of the victim. 1937E. H. Sutherland Professional Thief iii. 68 The lemon is an agreement between the inside man, an expert pool player, and a prospect, by which the prospect will win bets on the pool games played by the expert. Through a supposed fluke the expert wins the game which the prospect had bet he would lose, and the prospect thereby loses his money.
1837Royle Ess. Antiq. Hindu Med. 82 Andropogon Schœnanthus or *Lemon-grass. 1859Tennent Ceylon (1860) I. 25 These sunny expanses..are covered with tall lemon-grass. 1887C. A. Moloney Forestry W. Afr. 423 An odour somewhat analogous to that of lemon-grass oil.
1901Chambers's Jrnl. Nov. 719/2 On the very day of the picking they must be carried to the *lemon-house, and great care must be taken that the fruit is not exposed to the sun or bruised in any way. 1916D. H. Lawrence Twilight in Italy 85 We passed through, and stood at the foot of the lemon-house.
1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Lemon-kali, a drink made from citric and tartaric acid.
1914S. Lewis Our Mr. Wrenn i. 13 Hey, Drübel, got any *lemon merang? Bring me a hunk, will yuh? 1922Hotel World 15 Apr. 15/1 Lemon meringue pie. 1959N. Mailer Advts. for Myself (1961) ii. 126 There was roast chicken with stuffing, lemon meringue pie and chocolate cake. 1973J. Wilson Truth or Dare vi. 75 It was lemon meringue pie for dinner.
1896J. T. Law Grocer's Manual 408/2 The essence of lemon coming into commerce..is greatly made up of..the ethereal oil which is present in *lemon oil. 1957Encycl. Brit. XIII. 908/1 Among the important by-products resulting from the processing of lemons, after removal of the juice, are citric acid..lemon oil and pectin.
1862Ansted Channel Isl. iv. xxi. (ed. 2) 499 The Aloysia citriodora of botanists, the common *lemon plant, formerly called a verbena. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Lemon-rob, the inspissated juice of limes or lemons, a powerful anti-scorbutic.
1916Joyce Portrait of Artist (1969) i. 7 The moocow came down the road where Betty Byrne lived: she sold *lemon platt. 1965Amer. N. & Q. III. 117/2 ‘Lemon Platt’, commonly sold as ‘Yellow Man’ at fairs in the North of Ireland,..derives its name..from its flavor.
1900M. Thorn in W. D. Drury Bk. Gardening xi. 469 *Lemon-scented Verbena should be represented in gardens where shrubs with fragrant leaves are cherished. 1969D. Goold-Adams Cool Greenhouse Today xvii. 198 Lippia (Lemon-scented Verbena). Half-hardy deciduous shrub from Chile with insignificant flowers but grown in the greenhouse for the glorious scent of its crushed leaves.
1876World V. No. 115. 14 The orator sipped his accustomed glass of *lemon-squash.
1781Salem Gaz. 3 July, Isaac Greenwood..makes Flutes..Back-Gammon Boxes Men and Dies, Chess-Men, Billiard-Balls, Maces, *Lemon Squeezers. 1856‘Ockside’ & ‘Doesticks’ Hist. & Rec. Elephant Club 118 One..had been hit over the head with the lemon-squeezer. 1875Knight Dict. Mech., Lemon-squeezer. 1884Health Exhib. Catal. 110 Lemon Squeezers. 1887Century Mag. Aug. 489/1 The ‘Chunkers’ were frequently of the ‘lemon-squeezer’ pattern. 1949Nat. Geogr. Mag. Aug. 235 Knap⁓sack's a Nuisance in the ‘Lemon Squeezer’ [sc. a narrow defile]. 1953Baker Australia Speaks vii. 177 A few other words of wartime vintage..lemon squeezer, the peaked hat worn by New Zealand troops (apparently originated by the troops themselves). 1957T. S. Eliot On Poetry & Poets 113 It might be called the lemon-squeezer school of criticism. 1959B. Kops Hamlet of Stepney Green i. 10 Julius Caesar, such a silly geezer, caught his head in a lemon squeezer. 1964N.Z. News 24 Nov. 2/1 The ‘lemon squeezer’ was no longer suitable headgear for ceremonial rifle exercises and would never be worn by the New Zealand Army again, said the Chief of General Staff.
1629J. Parkinson Parad. cxxxi. 454 *Lemon Tyme. The wilde Tyme that smelleth like unto a Pomecitron or lemon, hath many weake branches trayling on the ground. 1657R. Verney in M. M. Verney Mem. (1894) III. xi. 409 Sweet Marjoram & Lemon Time. 1713J. Petiver in Phil. Trans. XXVIII. 193 Its Leaves plain and small as Lemon Tyme. 1861Mrs. Beeton Bk. Househ. Managem. 220 Lemon thyme. Two or three tufts of this species of thyme, Thymus citriodorus, usually find a place in the herb compartment of the kitchen garden. 1971Country Life 20 May 1252/2 Lemon-thyme has a lovely little golden cultivar which should be in all gardens. 1974Page & Stearn Culinary Herbs 44 Those who find the flavour of garden thyme too dominating may prefer the milder and fruity flavour of lemon thyme.
1573Baret Alv. L. 445 A *Limon tree, citrea. 1621Lady M. Wroth Urania 302 They went into an Orchard beyond..the trees being Orange and Lemond trees. 1879Britten & Holland Plant-n., Lemon Tree, a frequent name for Lippia (Aloysia) citriodora Kth., in allusion to the scent of the leaves. The verbena.
1869C. L. Brace New West iii. 37 *Lemonverbenas..are small trees. 1952J. & L. Bush-Brown America's Garden Bk. (ed. 2) xxi. 723 Plants suitable for pot culture... Lemon Verbena. 1971Country Life 20 May 1207/1 A huge lemon verbena (Lippia citriodora) is said to be pre-1903.
1883Wood in Good Words Sept. 603/1 Very few persons, if they were shown a gigantic octopus, an oyster, and a piece of ‘sea-mat’, or ‘*lemon-weed’, could believe that they belonged to the same class.
1879J. B. Armstrong in Trans. N. Zealand Instit. XII. 329 The tarata or *lemonwood, Pittosporum eugenioides, a most beautiful tree also used for hedges. 1924Record & Mell Timbers Trop. Amer. 513 Aspidosperma tomentosum Mart... Lemon wood... Color mostly bright, clear canary-yellow. 1934A. L. Howard Man. Timbers of World (rev. ed.) 148 Degame wood. Calycophyllum candidissimum... Lemon-wood. 1947J. C. Rich Materials & Methods Sculpture x. 290 Lemonwood, also referred to as Degame, is a yellowish or creamy-white hardwood that is sometimes used for carving. Cuba is the major source of this wood. 1969T. H. Everett Living Trees of World 162/2 The lemonwood of New Zealand..has masses of honey-scented yellowish green flowers and leaves that emit a lemon-like odor when bruised. 1972Handbk. Hardwoods (Building Res. Establishment) (ed. 2) 66 Degame. Calycophyllum candidissimum. Other name: lemonwood (United States).
b. Abbrev. of lemonade, lemon-juice; also bitter lemon, a mineral drink.
1885List of Subscribers (United Telephone Co.) p. xv. Kindly send us..one gross of seltzer, one gross of soda, one gross of lemon, and half that quantity of splits. 1898J. D. Brayshaw Slum Silhouettes 228 ‘Oh! a lemon an' dash'll do me,’ she says... So I calls fer two lemons, wiv a dash o' bitter. 1956R. Postgate in C. Ray Complete Imbiber I. 182 ‘Port 'n lemon’, which was an evidence of feminine folly some years ago, was I suppose a sort of proletarian equivalent of pink champagne. 1962Guardian 27 Aug. 3/1 His sister..drinks nothing but orange juice or bitter lemon. 1965I. Fleming Man with Golden Gun viii. 110 Mr Hendriks..nursed a Schweppes Bitter Lemon.
Add:[1.] [c.] esp. a substandard or defective car. (Later examples.)
1978J. Wambaugh Black Marble ix. 162 This lousy lemon we took in trade on a Buick. 1987Times 5 May 10/4 Plagued by component failures, mainly in their electrics, Jaguars became the ‘lemons’ of luxury cars in the United States in the 1970s. 1993Dr. Dobb's Jrnl. Jan. 121/1 Just as youth is wasted on the young, new-car smell is wasted on a pile of metal just out of the factory, that may or may not be a lemon and self-destruct in your driveway.
[7.] [a.] lemon law U.S. colloq., a law designed to provide redress for buyers of faulty or substandard cars (cf. sense *1 c above).
1981Washington Post 2 Mar. 25/4 The slick pamphlet touts the *Lemon Law Litigation Conference, an unusual gathering sponsored by the Center for Auto Safety. 1983N.Y. Times 21 June b1/6 Governor Kean today signed a ‘lemon law’ to protect buyers of defective new automobiles. 1990Daily Tel. 26 Jan. 19/5 Automobile ‘lemon laws’ vary, but in most states a motorist whose car has spent as much time in the repair shop as on the road in its first year stands a reasonable chance of getting a new replacement.
▪ II. lemon, n.2|ˈlɛmən|
[app. a. F. limande.]
Used attrib. in lemon-dab, lemon-sole, names given in various parts of England to certain species of plaice or flounder.
In London lemon-sole is the fishmonger's name for a kind of plaice somewhat resembling the true sole. In Australia this name has been transferred, through association with lemon n.1, to a flat-fish of a pale yellow colour, and in New Zealand it is applied to the Turbot.
1835Jenyns Man. Brit. Vertebr. Anim. 457 Platessa microcephala, Flem. (*Lemon Dab.) 1884St. James's Gaz. 18 Jan. 6/1 The..lemon-dab or queen..belong to that strange family of fish.
1876Trans. N. Zealand Instit. VIII. 215 Ammotretis rostratus,..a fish not uncommon in the Dunedin market, where it goes by the name of ‘*Lemon Sole’. 1880E. P. Ramsay Food-Fishes N.S. Wales 26 (Fish. Exhib. Publ.) Plagusia unicolor..is known under the name of the lemon sole; it is of a pale olive-yellow when alive. 1890Daily News 8 Jan. 2/6 Prices... Soles, 1s to 1s 4d per lb..lemon soles, 6d per lb.
▪ III. lemon, v.|ˈlɛmən|
[f. lemon n.1]
trans. To flavour with lemon. Hence ˈlemoned ppl. a.
1767H. Glasse Cookery 352 To make a lemoned honey⁓comb. 1869Pall Mall G. 21 Aug. 10 The Spaniards take strong cups of chocolate, followed by glasses of water, sugared and lemoned. 1883P. Robinson Sinners & Saints xxi. 264 [It] throws into an over-sweet landscape just that dash of sin and suffering that lemons it pleasantly to the taste. |