0
Mr. Tom Posted 11 years ago
Vocabulary

Idiom: To have a lemon in your hands...

Hi

I couldn't find much on these two idioms in my dictionaries, though I have heard the latter many times. 

Are they common among native speakers? What do they really mean?

To have a lemon in your hands. (Does it mean to be cheated?)
To have a nice one. (Does it mean 'You have a nice day'?)

Thanks,

Tom
  

Top answer

Mr. Tom have a lemon in your hands This seems to be a misquoted pair of idioms. Lemon = a machine that does not work properly on one's hands = in one's possession, as one's responsibility Mr.

— Mister Micawber

  • Mr.
  • Tom have a lemon in your hands This seems to be a misquoted pair of idioms.
  • Lemon = a machine that does not work properly on one's hands = in one's possession, as one's responsibility Mr.
  • Tom have a nice one.
  • : you have supplied no context.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

4 Answers
0
Mr. Tomhave a lemon in your hands
This seems to be a misquoted pair of idioms.

Lemon = a machine that does not work properly
on one's hands= in one's possession, as one's responsibility
Mr. Tomhave a nice one. (Does it mean 'You have a nice day'?)
Probably—or trip or class or interview or...
0
0
Mr. TomTo have a lemon in your hands.
The car he bought last November was a lemon. It has been back to the garage six times already.

Lemon = a (new) car that will never run well because it was badly manufactured.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_%
0
0
Thanks, MM and AStars.

I have heard "You have a nice one" as a farewell/goodbye utterance. Something like this:

A - OK, bye.
B - OK, John, you have a nice one.

Or have I misheard something?

Tom
0
0
Mr. TomOr have I misheard something?
No, that's what you heard. In that context, 'one' means 'day' unless they were talking about something else, like a date or a trip.
0

Related Questions