Why did they call sailors “limeys” back in the day?
From my understanding of history, as it turned out, the term “limey” originally applied to British sailors. In the 17th and 18th centuries, sailors suffered terribly from scurvy, a condition caused by a lack of vitamin C. Vitamin C comes mainly from fresh fruits and vegetables, but those foods weren’t exactly easy to come by when you’re at sea for months at a time. So the Royal Navy prescribed lime juice for all sailors to help ward off scurvy — hence the appellation “limeys.” As often happens, the term eventually lost its original context and was applied to all British, whether sailors or landlubbers.
