What is the meaning of the slang term 'lemon'?

Answer 1

In American slang, a "lemon" is a car that causes more trouble that it is worth, as in "I bought a car from that dealership, but it turned out to be a lemon."

In Australian slang, a "lemon" is a lesbian (originally just a sour woman), as in "This town seems full of lemons."

In Cockney rhyming slang, a "lemon" is a favor -" lemon flavour" - as in "Gi' us a lemon, mate."

Further Discussion:

A lemon is any unexpectedly defective or undesirable thing or person, usually said of bad choices, as in "We picked a lemon when we chose that guy," or of unsellable cars (in the motor trade), or new-bought cars that develop mysterious serial problems. To hand someone a lemon is to swindle.

A lemon is sour, therefore something is called a lemon when it does not work correctly. The fact that you bought something that doesn't work leaves "a sour taste in your mouth".

To purchase a "Lemon" is to purchase something that has not met your standards, or which is not a good purchase. It is usually used in the context of car dealing, and if something is a lemon, it is junk. If a car you recently bought breaks down quite often, it would be classified as a 'lemon.'

It means that you bought a piece of junk. A lemon, when referring to a car, is a nice looking or decent looking car that is broken or can't work.

A "lemon" is specifically a car that runs poorly for no apparent reason. The idiom is also used for anything you buy or get that turns out to be no good.

Examples:

"I let a used car dealer talk me into buying what I thought was a great car for the price, but it turned out to be a lemon. Nothing works on it, the bumper fell off, and I cannot convince the dealer to give me a refund."

"I bought the minivan new, and thought it would work great, but it turned out to be a lemon. I had to bring it back to the dealer five times in the first six weeks I owned it."

In adult content:

'Lemon' (commonly used in online stories, or descriptions of stories) means 'a sexual scene'. Another phrase is 'lime', but it is less common. Note that lemon means there are descriptions of activities, and often body parts. Citrus would mean more along the lines of sensual scenes without sex, but are still descriptive. The term 'lemon' is usually reserved for online.

In fan fiction, a 'lemon' is a scene or story that includes explicitly described sex. It is a slang term used in fanfictions to warn of sexually explicit material.

lemon=sex

lime=close, but no sex

yaoi= male on male

yuri=girl on girl

slash-or a / put between names=same sex relationship

E.g.: Story Description: Lots of drama, Horror, and love. Rated M for lemons.

Answer 2

In slang, 'lemon' is often used to describe a defective or faulty item, especially a car that is unreliable or not in good condition. It can also refer to something disappointing or of poor quality.