2 JUNE 1950, Page 17

Lemon Lore

SIR,—Mr. Frank Swinnerton in his contribution to Books and Writers on May 12th, makes frequent use of the statement, " The answer is a lemon." Whilst the meaning of this remark may be fairly obvious in common parlance, the origin of the phrase appears to be obscure, and is tot mentioned in any books of reference I have consulted. Would Mr. Swinnerton, or any equally enlightened reader favour us with the source