limey
[lahy-mee]Slang: Usually Disparaging and Offensive.
- a British sailor.
- a British ship.
- a British person.
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- British.
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Origin of limey
Usage note
This term (and the earlier lime-juicer ) was probably first applied by Americans to British sailors, used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting. Historically, it also referred to a British immigrant in Australia. Later it became a more neutral nickname for any British person.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for limey
Contemporary Examples
Maybe they needed to do that because Freud himself was hardly a true Limey.
Historical Examples
We are a little mortary and limey at present, but we are getting on capitally.
Reprinted PiecesCharles Dickens
A plasterer with limey overalls gazed at the wagon intently until it passed by.
Watch Yourself Go ByAl. G. Field
The same facts exist with regard to a loam, a calcareous (or limey) soil, or a vegetable mould.
The Elements of AgricultureGeorge E. Waring
limey
- a British person
- a British sailor or ship
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- British
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Word Origin
abbreviated from C19 lime-juicer, because British sailors were required to drink lime juice as a protection against scurvy
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for limey
n.
1888, Australian, New Zealand, and South African slang for "English immigrant;" U.S. use is attested from 1918, originally "British sailor, British warship," short for lime-juicer (1857), in derisive reference to the British Navy's policy (begun 1795) of issuing lime (n.2) juice on ships to prevent scurvy among sailors. In U.S., extended to "any Englishman" by 1924.
Midway Signs Limey Prof to Dope Yank Talk ["Chicago Tribune" headline, Oct. 18, 1924]
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper