lemon:
4 [C] especially AmE informal something that is useless because it fails to work or to work properly:
- I soon realized the van was a lemon.
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I've been hearing this expression lately on car commercials. To be honest, I didn't quite know what it meant. I knew it was about cars because the state I live has a “Lemon Law” to protect vehicle buyers. Essentially, car dealers are responsible to fix or replace a new car if a buyer found a problem with it. So, I didn't think too much of it when I heard something “lemon” on TV commercials. It's about cars anyway.
Then, today, I spotted this from a newsgroup, alt.usage.english:
“....
I did once see an automobile with a very realistic looking chromed logo that read "Fraud" in the Ford lettering style. He also had a sign in the back window claiming the vehicle was a lemon and the dealer wouldn't do anything about it.”
Suddenly, it dawned on me. I pictured a guy who just ate a lemon and his face all squeezed together – this facial expression can't be about happiness.
Could this “lemon” mean what I think it is?
