A taste for lemons
17/10/14 05:05
In Old French, the word “limon” referred to all citrus fruits. According to the English Language and Usage website, the word has Arabic roots and was once the term for citrus in general. The would explain why if you ask for a lemon in Costa Rica you are as likely to get a lime as a lemon. Both lemons and limes are useful in cooking and have health benefits. But somehow along the line the word “lemon” has gotten a bad reputation.
In used car deals, a lemon is a car that might look good, but is mechanically defective. Selling a lemon implies trickery or unfairness in the transaction.According to the Oxford English Dictionary we have been using the word lemon as slang for something worthless for a century or more.
Maybe it is because lemons look so good and so inviting and have a distinctly bitter taste. Maybe it is because the skin is so thick and there is less pulp and juice inside than one might expect. Whatever the reason, there are a bunch of associated terms that have less than stellar reputations in popular slang. Tart can be a description of a flavor, but it is not a kind word when applied to a woman. Sucker might be descriptive of one who gets the juice out of a piece of fruit, but it is not a compliment when applied to anyone. I’ve often heard it remarked that P.T. Barnum once said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” The phrase probably didn’t originate with Barnum, in fact it most likely was first offered as a criticism of the showman by David Hannum. The meaning is clear: most people are gullible.
Despite its reputation, I like lemons. The other day the grocery store had bags of lemons on sale for a reasonable price and I bought a bag and stuck it in the refrigerator. I’ve been taking the juice of half a lemon and adding it plain water to drink every day. It makes a refreshing drink. I know some people like it with sparkling water, but I’m fine with just lemon juice and water. I don’t need the sugar of lemonade and I don’t find the taste to be bad at all. Some people like the fire of peppers and I don’t mind that flavor either. Bitter is an equally pleasant sensation once you get used to it.
I’ve read that pepper and bitter are among the slowest taste sensations to develop. Very young children often can’t distinguish those flavors until their taste buds have matured. When our son was very young he used to beg for the slices of lemon when we ate in a restaurant. He’d fuss enough that we would give them to him, at first expecting to use natural consequences to teach him that everything that is pretty doesn’t taste good. To our surprise, he enjoyed the lemons and even though we occasionally got a strange look from other patrons in the restaurant, we started letting him suck the juice out of the lemons. He grew up into a very prudent adult who does his homework before making purchases and is far less likely than the average person to get involved with a shady or questionable deal.
Pleasure from eating comes in part from contrasts. I like the contrast of sweet and sour. I don’t mind the “zing” that comes from a dash of lemon juice.
Turning back to the English Language and Usage website, there is the story of the phrase, “to give someone a lemon and pass it off as a nugget of gold.” The original saying was later shortened to “handing someone a lemon.” I guess that it would be a bad deal if you were expecting a gold nugget and what you got was a lemon. But there are plenty of scenarios in this world where food is worth more than money. And some of us will never collect a significant amount of wealth, but will enjoy sufficient food every day.
I’ve never been a person who put much stock in money for money’s sake. I’m not much for balance sheets and bank accounts and reserves and investments. In our church we recruit people with more passion for and skill with money to manage our small amounts of finance. What interests me is what can be done with money. With a little fundraising, we can build a Habitat for Humanity home. The generosity of our people helps us maintain our church building and extend our ministry. It is a very pleasant thing to have enough money to share when I run across someone who is hungry or has a special need.
But the truth is that given the choice, I think I would be just as happy with the lemon as a nugget of gold. Maybe I’m one of those suckers who is born every minute.
When I read in the Bible, “REnder unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s,” I don’t immediately think that Jesus is trying to establish a complex theology of two kingdoms. There are some very good Lutheran theologians who have developed that theology, but my initial reaction is to read Jesus’s words as a kind of contempt for money. He asks his questioner to show him a coin and then dismisses it as of being of so little value that it is fine to give it to Caesar. It is as if he is saying, “It’s only money.”
There are a few things that money can buy that are nice. And I use money every day. It is fine as a medium of exchange. But having a lot of it has never been among my goals. Over the years, I’m pretty sure that i’ve made some pretty poor financial deals. And I have not always managed my money as well as I might have in part because managing money doesn’t hold much interest for me. And that makes me very happy in my life and my work. I don’t have a job that is noted for large salaries and I have no need of a large salary. What I do have is a wonderful family and a church dedicated to serving others. I wouldn’t trade them for all of the nuggets of gold in the world.
I have a preference for lemons.
In used car deals, a lemon is a car that might look good, but is mechanically defective. Selling a lemon implies trickery or unfairness in the transaction.According to the Oxford English Dictionary we have been using the word lemon as slang for something worthless for a century or more.
Maybe it is because lemons look so good and so inviting and have a distinctly bitter taste. Maybe it is because the skin is so thick and there is less pulp and juice inside than one might expect. Whatever the reason, there are a bunch of associated terms that have less than stellar reputations in popular slang. Tart can be a description of a flavor, but it is not a kind word when applied to a woman. Sucker might be descriptive of one who gets the juice out of a piece of fruit, but it is not a compliment when applied to anyone. I’ve often heard it remarked that P.T. Barnum once said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” The phrase probably didn’t originate with Barnum, in fact it most likely was first offered as a criticism of the showman by David Hannum. The meaning is clear: most people are gullible.
Despite its reputation, I like lemons. The other day the grocery store had bags of lemons on sale for a reasonable price and I bought a bag and stuck it in the refrigerator. I’ve been taking the juice of half a lemon and adding it plain water to drink every day. It makes a refreshing drink. I know some people like it with sparkling water, but I’m fine with just lemon juice and water. I don’t need the sugar of lemonade and I don’t find the taste to be bad at all. Some people like the fire of peppers and I don’t mind that flavor either. Bitter is an equally pleasant sensation once you get used to it.
I’ve read that pepper and bitter are among the slowest taste sensations to develop. Very young children often can’t distinguish those flavors until their taste buds have matured. When our son was very young he used to beg for the slices of lemon when we ate in a restaurant. He’d fuss enough that we would give them to him, at first expecting to use natural consequences to teach him that everything that is pretty doesn’t taste good. To our surprise, he enjoyed the lemons and even though we occasionally got a strange look from other patrons in the restaurant, we started letting him suck the juice out of the lemons. He grew up into a very prudent adult who does his homework before making purchases and is far less likely than the average person to get involved with a shady or questionable deal.
Pleasure from eating comes in part from contrasts. I like the contrast of sweet and sour. I don’t mind the “zing” that comes from a dash of lemon juice.
Turning back to the English Language and Usage website, there is the story of the phrase, “to give someone a lemon and pass it off as a nugget of gold.” The original saying was later shortened to “handing someone a lemon.” I guess that it would be a bad deal if you were expecting a gold nugget and what you got was a lemon. But there are plenty of scenarios in this world where food is worth more than money. And some of us will never collect a significant amount of wealth, but will enjoy sufficient food every day.
I’ve never been a person who put much stock in money for money’s sake. I’m not much for balance sheets and bank accounts and reserves and investments. In our church we recruit people with more passion for and skill with money to manage our small amounts of finance. What interests me is what can be done with money. With a little fundraising, we can build a Habitat for Humanity home. The generosity of our people helps us maintain our church building and extend our ministry. It is a very pleasant thing to have enough money to share when I run across someone who is hungry or has a special need.
But the truth is that given the choice, I think I would be just as happy with the lemon as a nugget of gold. Maybe I’m one of those suckers who is born every minute.
When I read in the Bible, “REnder unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s,” I don’t immediately think that Jesus is trying to establish a complex theology of two kingdoms. There are some very good Lutheran theologians who have developed that theology, but my initial reaction is to read Jesus’s words as a kind of contempt for money. He asks his questioner to show him a coin and then dismisses it as of being of so little value that it is fine to give it to Caesar. It is as if he is saying, “It’s only money.”
There are a few things that money can buy that are nice. And I use money every day. It is fine as a medium of exchange. But having a lot of it has never been among my goals. Over the years, I’m pretty sure that i’ve made some pretty poor financial deals. And I have not always managed my money as well as I might have in part because managing money doesn’t hold much interest for me. And that makes me very happy in my life and my work. I don’t have a job that is noted for large salaries and I have no need of a large salary. What I do have is a wonderful family and a church dedicated to serving others. I wouldn’t trade them for all of the nuggets of gold in the world.
I have a preference for lemons.