Talk:Limey

reference to popular culture
I don't know how to edit correctly, but can someone put a reference to Kevin Kline in a Fish Called Wanda as an American calling a British fish "wake up limey fish?" Limey is considered derogatory now but it's not "racist" as it's disparaging nationality, not ethnicity. =lemon or lime== It was originally lemons, not limes, and limes only replaced them very briefly. They difference is that the British didn't distinguish between lemons and limes linguistically very distinctly.
 * What does that mean? A lemon is yellow and a lime is green. British people put them both in drinks but know the difference. Zeth (talk) 00:48, 7 August 2021 (UTC)

racist term?
Limey isn't a 'racist' term-- it isn't a label put on one race by another. It's a term that was used by--predominantly white--US soldiers and Marines (a large percentage of whom were of Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh descent) in WWI to describe--predominantly white--British soldiers (irrespective of English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish origin).


 * It's about as racist as 'Yank'. Gazh 19:33, 5 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Which is not very much - the terms are probably both often used more in jest, poking fun at the other, than with any serious malice implied.--h i s  s p a c e   r e s e a r c h 22:37, 29 January 2008 (UTC)


 * From my understanding, the term "limey" originated from an order from the Admiralty in the late 1700s that every British sailor should be given a lime a day to prevent scurvy. Is this correct, and should it be added to the page? Parsecboy (talk) 18:53, 11 April 2008 (UTC)
 * You can also see it in the image in this BBC article. So I can't imagine it's regarded as too offensive. --Aquillion (talk) 11:14, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

The term "limey" isn't racist at all. It is, as the current (April 2010) version of the article states, somewhat pejorative. As Gazh said wayback, it's about like Yank (or Yankee) for which there is also a wiki article. Moretz (talk) 12:12, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

To describe--predominantly white--British soldiers (irrespective of English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish origin The Irish are not British and Iv'e never heard anyone use the term limey for Irish people. There wasn't any Irish soldiers in America so the term has never been used for the Irish to my knowledge. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.77.122.102 (talk) 01:12, 24 March 2020 (UTC)

Disambiguation page or not?
This page is currently a disambiguation page but it seems instead to be dedicated to the term 'limey', as it has a paragraph about that term. Should the page be changed to an article for that term and a link to the film 'Limey' added at the top of that page? --Credema (talk) 21:27, 5 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I don't see anything wrong with that; generally, dab pages aren't necessary when there are only 2 topics with similar names, as hat notes are sufficient for anyone who gets to the wrong article accidentally. Parsecboy (talk) 21:42, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

Lind reference
I added a reference to Lind after tweaking the text here to more closely match the Lind wiki article. I know nothing about the cabbage anecdote that I replaced, but if legitimate (and sourceable) it could be added back, presumably before his more scientific experiments regarding citrus. Moretz (talk) 12:12, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

Scurvy...?
Seems at least half this article is about scurvy. I don't think that's really necessary and should be linked. Sailorknightwing (talk) 15:28, 21 September 2010 (UTC)

English or the British?
The article states that the word refers to the English, but Alternative_names_for_the_British says it refers to the British (which is what I've always understood it to mean as an Englishman). Is there any reference to the word being used only to refer to the English?145.221.193.38 (talk) 12:05, 15 April 2011 (UTC)
 * OK, you're playing stupid. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.41.164.165 (talk) 19:06, 3 August 2015 (UTC)

Dated
I don't think I've ever heard some under the age of 70 say "limey". It may now be an antiquated name.--Craigboy (talk) 04:53, 26 February 2014 (UTC)
 * Seems completely obsolete and extinct. I'm yet to see a source outside a war film or an obvious parody. British people like to put citrus fruit in their drinks, that is true. It seems more of a nickname than an insult. Zeth (talk) 00:45, 7 August 2021 (UTC)