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The lemon contributes to some of our most deliciously flavored cuisine, so why the bad rap? Some amateur etymologists speculate our little yellow friend became synonymous with a poorly working vehicle because both leave a sour taste in the mouth. And it's true we often associate negative developments with that particular sensation, as in the statement "That relationship went sour." Wikipedia alludes to more specific linguistic developments. In the 1800s, the word was used to describe people who were unfriendly (or "sour"). "Over time, 'lemon' came to refer to anything...defective or broken." The Online
Etymology Dictionary traces this connotation back to 1909 American slang, possibly in the sense of "a person who is a loser..., someone whom an opportunist can suck the juice out of." Circa 1906-08, "a pool hall hustle was called a lemon game, while to hand someone a lemon was British slang for 'to pass off a substandard article as a good one.'" Whatever the origins of the expression, state governments have now officially tied defective autos to the beleaguered citrus fruit. In a series of "lemon laws," most states now define an automobile as a lemon if it's been "taken in at least four times for the same repair or is out of service for a total of thirty days during the coverage period, which is usually one year from delivery
or the duration of the written warranty, whichever is shorter."
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