Jeanne Hedge wrote:

At 07:26 PM 4/26/97 -0700, Jonathan Haas wrote:

Forgive me, FFMLers... I'm sure this is a FAQ, but I was unable to find
the answer, no matter how hard I looked. What is the origin of the term
"lemon" to describe a fic that contains sex?

I think this is one of those questions that no one really knows the answer
to, but IMO it has to do with a late-70s/early-80s(?) OAV series called
"Cream Lemon".  The entire idea of "Cream Lemon" was for the characters to
end up in some kind of sex scene.

That, and also aren't manga with explicit content labeled with
some warning label in the shape of a small yellow oval? Or is
this just another urban legend?

I always preferred to explain it as the "Dear God, why am I reading this
smut" feeling you get from reading good lemon, much like the "Eeuch, why
did I put this thing in my mouth?" feeling you get from sucking on a lemon.

--JT