English Idiom: (Go) suck a lemon
In the English language, there are rude words that people can use when they get angry. Go suck a lemon is a family-friendly way to tell someone to go away if you are mad at them.
Naturally, you could always use the infamous F**f o**. Here at ArtisanEnglish.jp, I try to be much more family-friendly.
Like other expressions in English such as learn the ropes, this idiom has its origin in the sailing of tall ships.
A long time ago, the British navy ruled the oceans. Ships and sailors would spend months or perhaps even years at sea.
Food preservations techniques were very basic then, which cause the diet to be quite poor.
As a result, many sailors suffered from scurvy, which is a lack of vitamin C.
Eventually, the British discovered that fruit contained vitamin C and eating fruit at sea would help sailors remain healthy.
Unfortunately, without refrigeration citrus fruits spoiled quickly except however for lemons.
The British navy would purchase lemons from Italy. Once in awhile for its sailors had to suck a lemon to get vitamin C.
As you can imagine, sucking a lemon is not a pleasant experience.
Nowadays, if you’re angry with someone and want them to go away and have an unpleasant experience you can tell them to suck a lemon.
There’s another part to this story though. The Italian mafia grew out of this lemon trade with the British. I’m not going to get into it here, but indirectly the British navy created the mafia as we know it today.
