'Lemon' origins in description of faulty products

JAEF

Edit: Well I think I've found an acceptable answer but the board won't let me delete this. Joy. Lock if necessary.

Edit: My searching led me to this, which seemed the most likely answer: http://ask.yahoo.com/20060828.html

The lemon contributes to some of our most deliciously flavored cuisine, so why the bad rap? Some amateur etymologists speculate our little yellow friend became synonymous with a poorly working vehicle because both leave a sour taste in the mouth. And it's true we often associate negative developments with that particular sensation, as in the statement "That relationship went sour."

Wikipedia alludes to more specific linguistic developments. In the 1800s, the word was used to describe people who were unfriendly (or "sour"). "Over time, 'lemon' came to refer to anything...defective or broken." The Online Etymology Dictionary traces this connotation back to 1909 American slang, possibly in the sense of "a person who is a loser..., someone whom an opportunist can suck the juice out of." Circa 1906-08, "a pool hall hustle was called a lemon game, while to hand someone a lemon was British slang for 'to pass off a substandard article as a good one.'"

Whatever the origins of the expression, state governments have now officially tied defective autos to the beleaguered citrus fruit. In a series of "lemon laws," most states now define an automobile as a lemon if it's been "taken in at least four times for the same repair or is out of service for a total of thirty days during the coverage period, which is usually one year from delivery or the duration of the written warranty, whichever is shorter."

INeedNoSalt

You should tell us

Sarcastro

I had thought, in vehicles specifically, it was a vague allusion to the 'Citroen' line of cars that hit the US market from France from 1930-1975. I beleive it was just a cultural backbite, the cars being no more or less defective than other lines, but they had gained a certain cult following, and the resulting counter-culture, due in part to negative feelings against France during/after the war, eventually won out.

I don't know if this is actually true, but it was the answer I got in the fifth grade when I asked the same question. It made sense at the time, but looking back I'm not sure on the source there. (english language teacher).