suck a lemon

English

Alternative forms

• suck lemons

Etymology

From the grimace one sometimes gets from tasting the tartness of a lemon's citric acid.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

suck a lemon (third-person singular simple present sucks a lemon, present participle sucking a lemon, simple past and past participle sucked a lemon)

1. (idiomatic, UK) To be in a sour or negative mood.

   I knew he must've woke up sucking a lemon when he didn't even say hello.