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Prior to the 1700s, sailors often developed the disease scurvy, which would afflict them after long times at sea when eating only preserved foods. By the early 1700's, the British navy had determined that giving sailors a daily ration of lemon juice or lime juice could prevent the disease. Scurvy continued to be a problem until the late 1700s, as some voyages were so long that the ships weren't able to carry enough fresh fruit.

By the early 1800's, the term "Limey" had come into use as a pejorative term for British sailors, and the term spread to British soldiers and then to anybody from Britain.

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12y ago

Because the ate a lot of limes on the boat to get protein and vitamins and keep there teeth nice from all the bad rotten food...

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Q: Why are were the British soldiers called limeys?
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This is a nickname that died out after World War II and was only used by Americans. In the 18th and early 19th century, sailors of all nationalities were afflicted by a condition known as scurvy after long periods at sea. It was eventually discovered that the condition was caused by a lack of vitamin C during long sea voyages and to solve the problem, British ships started to carry quantities of limes on long voyages, which were distributed to crew members at regular intervals during the voyage. When American seamen heard about this, they didn't believe that limes could alleviate scurvy and ridiculed the British sailors by calling them 'Limeys'. The name soon spread and eventually most Americans called British people (not just sailors) Limeys.


Because of a special fruit used to prevent scurvy what were English sailors called?

They were called limeys (short for lime juicer). To prevent scurvy, fresh lime juice was used on British warships.


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