limey

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(') pronunciation
n. Slang, pl., -eys.
  1. A British sailor.
  2. An English person.

[Short for lime juicer (from the use of lime juice on British warships in order to prevent scurvy).]



Limey is the adjective corresponding to the fruit called lime, whereas limy relates to the caustic alkaline substance. Limey (with a capital initial letter) is an American English slang term for a person from Britain, and arose from the enforced consumption of lime-juice in the British navy.

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noun
noun, mainly Austral, NZ, and S Afr

1:
A British immigrant. (1888 —) .
J. Bertram I can remember scores of fights among the 'Limeys' (1947).

2:
US A British person (orig a sailor) or ship. (1918 —) .
J. Steinbeck Fights in the bar-rooms with the goddam Limeys (1952).

[Abbreviation of obs. lime-juicer noun, from the former enforced consumption of lime-juice as an antiscorbutic in the British Navy.]


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For a list of words related to limey, see:

  See crossword solutions for the clue Limey.

Limey is an old slang nickname, often pejorative, for the British, originally referring to their sailors. It has since been used as a derogatory term that relates to English people. The term is believed to derive from lime fruits, referring to the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy practice of supplying lime juice to British sailors to prevent scurvy.[1] The benefits of citrus juice were well known at the time thanks to the acute observations of surgeon James Lind who studied the effects of citrus on scurvy in 1747.[2]

Limes replaced lemons because limes were more readily available from Britain's own Caribbean colonies. Lemon juice was reintroduced after scurvy again became a problem because of lime juice lacking sufficient vitamin C.

The term is thought to have originated in the Caribbean in the 1870s. A false etymology is that it is a derivative of "Cor-blimey" ("God blind me!" or "God blight me!").[citation needed]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Definition of Limey from Oxford Dictionaries". http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/Limey. Retrieved 2011-07-06. 
  2. ^ Carlisle, Rodney (2004). Scientific American Inventions and Discoveries, p.393. John Wiley & Songs, Inc., New Jersey. ISBN 0-471-24410-4.

See also



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Dansk (Danish)
n. - englænder

Nederlands (Dutch)
Engelsman (Amerikaanse bijnaam)

Français (French)
n. - (US) Angliche

Deutsch (German)
n. - Engländer

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (βρομο)εγγλέζος

Italiano (Italian)
inglese

Português (Portuguese)
n. - marinheiro (m) britânico, barco (m) britânico, britânico (m)

Русский (Russian)
английский моряк, английский солдат

Español (Spanish)
n. - inglés (en EE.UU., Australia)

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - (Am. sl.) brittisk sjöman, britt, brittiskt fartyg

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
英国海军, 英国人

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 英國海軍, 英國人

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 영국 수병, 영국인

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 英国水兵, 英国人, 英国人移民
adj. - 英国の

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) بحار, رجل إنكليزي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮בריטי (מדוברת), מלח בריטי‬


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Samson (Rock Band, '60s, '70s)
The Limey [Original Soundtrack] (1999 Album by Original Soundtrack)
Lem Dobbs (Writer, Director, Actor, Adventure/Thriller)
The Limey (1999 Crime Film)
On Holiday With... (2000 Album by The Maulies)