# do me a lemon

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/do-me-a-lemon
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

Expresses disbelief.

## Examples

- Do me a lemon, you really think I believe that story?
- When he claimed he won the lottery twice in one week, I told him to do me a lemon.
- She looked at me with utter skepticism and told me to do me a lemon after I suggested the project would be finished by morning.

## Origin

The expression originated as a Cockney rhyming slang variant of the phrase do me a favour. The term lemon functions as a truncated reference to lemon flavour, which supplies the rhyme for the final word of the original request.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.