To Lime: Trinidadian slang for a group of friends hanging out together. It can be large or small, pre-arranged or impromptu. It often involves food, and ALWAYS requires beverages (not necessarily alcoholic, but it certainly may). It is NEVER a hurried activity. It can occur on a beach, by a river, at someone's home, or on a street corner. By now you may possibly be wondering what on Earth a small green citrus fruit has to do with a bunch of buddies hanging around. The Republic of Trinidad & Tobago was a British colony until 1962. Trinidad, since it is only 7 miles off the coast of Venezuela, had been originally colonized by Spain as a military outpost from which to launch expeditions for El Dorado. The Brits wrested it away from the Spaniards and, like so many other Caribbean islands, it was turned into a sugar producing colony peopled by African slaves and later by East Indian indentured servants. When the locals would go into the capital Port of Spain, they'd see British sailors all lollygagging about having a dandy time being unproductive with their mates in the tropical heat. Slang for the Brit sailors was "limey" (since they had to eat limes to prevent scurvy) and hence the Trini slang was coined by the locals watching the foreigners. True to Trini character, they raised liming (along with calypso, steel pans, and various other things) to an art form and made it their own. It is not merely a slang term. It is an outlook on life that values good times with good friends and defines a significant part of the culture in Trinidad. |
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