Home » Segments » To Lime or Go Liming in Trinidad

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.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

More from this show

Going on Buxtehude

Sean in Oneonta, New York, says that when he was growing up in New Jersey, his family would pile in the car and set off on a surprise adventure, whether a short distance or long, and the kids would be told only that they were going on Buxtehude...

Recent posts