Literary notes about limmer (AI summary)
In the literature, “limmer” functions both as a pejorative term and as an allusive marker of character or place. Authors employ it as an insult to denote a person perceived as incompetent, worthless, or disreputable—as when characters are scornfully addressed as “little limmer” or “limmer loon” ([1], [2], [3], [4]). At the same time, its use extends to proper names for hotels and locales, such as Limmer’s Hotel, which becomes a hub for the sporting or social underbelly ([5], [6], [7], [8]). In other instances, the word appears in regional vernaculars, sometimes playfully, to capture local color or to label someone with a questionable reputation ([9], [10], [11]). This versatility allows “limmer” to simultaneously convey derision, familiarity, and a hint of irony within diverse narrative settings.
- "Oh, you little limmer, to put such a thought into my head."
— from Sentimental TommyThe Story of His Boyhood by J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie - " "O hold thy tongue, thou limmer loon, And of thy talking let me be!
— from Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 2 (of 4) - At that, dominie, I lost patience, and I whispered, fierce-like, 'Keep your foot to yoursel', you limmer!'
— from The Little Minister by J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie - "What's that, thou sayst, thou limmer loon?
— from Stories of the Scottish Border by William Platt - I will take your counsel; and now I will go at once to Limmer's.
— from The International Monthly, Volume 4, No. 4, November 1, 1851 by Various - "Limmer's was the evening resort for the sporting world; in fact, it was a midnight
— from Social England under the Regency, Vol. 2 (of 2) by John Ashton - Read before the Sette at a Meeting held at Limmer’s Hotel, on Friday, November 6th, 1891.
— from Automata Old and New by Conrad William Cooke - Randal dressed in haste, and went at once to Limmer's hotel.
— from Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. XXVI, July 1852, Vol. V by Various - And, limmer, what gar’d ye steal him?’ quo’ he; ‘For lang thou mightst in Cumberland dwelt Or the Laird’s Jock had stown aught frae thee.’— XLVIII
— from The Oxford Book of Ballads - LIME-HOUND, leash-, blood-hound. LIMMER, vile, worthless. LIN, leave off.
— from Every Man in His Humor by Ben Jonson - LIMMAR, LIMMER, s. a scoundrel; a woman of loose manners.
— from Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 24