This post is very interesting and I’ve read all the comments and articles. I find it funny that no one has brought up the other half of the name of the fruit, “lime”. I was long ago taught never to use the word/expression “limey” as it is/was considered a pejorative.
“This term was probably first applied by Americans to British sailors, and 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.”
I’m personally not worried about using the older term for makrut lime because it NEVER comes up in conversation for me, but as a citrus lover, I must be careful not to say “this drink/dish is very limey”.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
63
Although our sailors had discovered that limes (and other citrus fruit) prevented scurvy, so we had the last laugh.
I don’t have a problem being described as a limey. But I do object to an American slang word for a toilet being a John.
IN zone 7, I have a tree that has been with me for at least 10 years. It goes outside in the summer and stays in a sunny window for the winter season. It has borne fruit a couple of times but i dont like the juice and whie there are some traditional uses for the rind I think the leaves can substitute fairly well. same general aroma. Only issue with citrus indoors is that they tend to get scale insect in late winter-spring which draw ants - these have to be dealt with most years.
There is also an issue in the US these days for using “Karen” as a pejorative term to describe certain behaviors by white women. Looking up Karen (slang) will provide information.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
68
Having seen someone use the name in a food context on a Tripadvisor forum, I actually posted here asking what it meant. It caused such a response that I asked the mods to not just close the thread but completely delete it (which they did). I had no idea…
I find the use of Karen to be incredibly misogynistic and ageist.
It’s a way for people to tell middle-aged women to pipe down or shut up .
I see men and younger women use it all the time in Canada.
I can’t tell you how often I’ve had men say comments along the lines of " what are you going to do, call the manager?"
I complain and speak out less than I did as a 30something, partly because I don’t want to be seen as a whiner.
While some people who have been racist or have abused their privilege have been labeled Karens (I know of a woman in California and another- a Canadian expat - in Central Park who have been mentioned in various stories over the years, ), the term is being used by a lot of people to tell women to shut up.
It’s a very common term in Canada. I tell people it’s misogynistic when they use it as a slur, around me.
Yes, that’s why I didn’t post links for Karen…it’s easy to internet search if someone wants to know. It seems a specifically recent issue only in the USA.
Memes are destructive many times. There are lots of people named Karen, and lots of people named John, and lots of people named Peter (who didn’t asked to be identified with a certain gerund, a word ending with -ing)…I’m a Mary but those of us with that name are getting much less common and I grew up in a Protestant area.
That happens in Canada, too. Nicaraguans and even Argentineans being called Mexican.
To think how perturbed some Canadians can be when they’re misidentified as Americans. (Or vice versa)
It’s a complex world to be navigated for sure. Add to that the fact it’s considered rude/not pc to ask where people are “from” either, and it makes
things a bit harder. I worry sometimes that IRL things are becoming more awkward than accepting and inclusive.
Also aware of and agree with the “Karen” thing, but am guilty of having used it myself! (Rarely)I also have a name that’s older, and is often used as a perjorative - in fact it’s a tropical storm right now!
Hope we can get to a point where people are accepted beyond race, gender, age and beliefs. Just my unasked for 2 cents.
Oh lol, that’s H’s name! Should get help from mods to change it! I’m a Debbie, or Deb actually, but hoping hurricane/tropical storm not too destructive. Would be difficult being named Katrina (for example) if one lived in an affected part of that storm’s devastating impact. It’s only right that the hurricane center is naming storms now using the whole panoply of names available.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
77
In the UK, there is a word of racial abuse (let’s call it the P-Word) used against those of South Asian heritage, regardless of if that is Pakistani heritage or not.
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CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
78
I’d imagine so. People are usually proud of their heritage and likely don’t appreciate mistaken assumptions or being lumped into a wrong basket.
Hey what happened to your login? Did it get wiped and you had to start over? Maybe Admin can retrieve it for you.
