lemon
- noun
- /ˈlɛmən/
- Informal
- Hopefully, these tips will help you avoid ending up with a soppy lemon that breaks down.
Examples
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Then Raymond, who sold us the lemon out front.
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The car turned out to be a lemon after spending too much money on repairs.
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And they sold this lemon to the American public.
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- God, this house is a lemon.
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No, i'm afraid as pretty as it is, We've got ourselves a lemon.
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One involves a lemon law complaint in which an appeals panel reduced an award to $53,435 from $10 million.
Academic text (2004) -
Yeah, a lot of Series 10's were lemons.
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- It's a lemon.
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Most Nikon lenses are lemons, and any FX user will see this?
Blog text (14) -
Internally, they characterized these offerings as "junk," "dogs," "big old lemons," and "monstrosities."
Blog text (22)
Synonyms
A thing of very poor quality that is useless
A thing, especially a product or show, that is poor quality and often fails
A thing like a car that often breaks or does not work
A thing made badly that breaks easily or does not work well
Idioms
Compounds
- Formal
A law that helps buyers get a refund or replacement for vehicles that keep breaking
- US
A large yellowish-brown shark that lives in shallow water near the coast and often swims in groups
- US
A pale brown flat fish found along the Pacific coast of North America and eaten as food
- UK
A sweet thick spread for toast or cake made from lemons, butter, eggs, and sugar
A small plant with leaves that smell of lemon that people use to flavor tea and drinks
- Australian
A tall Australian tree with smooth bark and a strong lemon smell from its leaves
- South African
An evergreen tree from South Africa with tough wood used for furniture
- South African
An evergreen tree from South Africa with very hard wood used for furniture
- US
A small tree or shrub with leaves made of three parts, thin yellow-green flower clusters, and red hairy fruit
A tropical vine with thin divided leaves that smells strong when you crush its stems
How Worthless
- Informal
- Informal
- Archaic
- Offensive
Surface Forms
Etymology
A helpful way to remember calling something a lemon, meaning a bad or defective product, is to think of the sour fruit leaving a bad taste; the slang uses the fruit's sourness as a picture for disappointment, which is why people call a broken car a lemon.