To Lime or Go Liming in Trinidad

Jolene is originally from Trinidad and recalls that when she wanted to ask her friends to get together for some loosely organized socializing, she’dinvite them to go lime or liming. No one’s sure of the etymology, although the Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad & Tobago suggests the term may derive from limey, a derogatory name for British and later U.S. servicemembers. Another possibility is that liming originated with the idea that everyone who didn’t get invited to a party might instead get together on their own, metaphorically sucking limes — a kind of citrus-flavored version of sour grapes. This is part of a complete episode.

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