Definition

Noun: A dessert pie consisting of a pastry crust filled with a sweet, tart lemon custard (typically made from lemon juice, egg yolks, sugar, and sometimes butter or cornstarch) and topped with a layer of baked meringue (made from whipped egg whites and sugar).

Usage

This term refers specifically to the complete, classic dessert. It is a count noun. * For dessert, she baked a delicious lemon meringue pie. * The diner is famous for its lemon meringue pie. * I would like a slice of lemon meringue pie, please.

Advanced Usage

• The phrase can be used metaphorically to describe something that appears attractive and sweet on the outside (the meringue) but has a sharp or sour core (the lemon filling).
  • His proposal seemed perfect, but it turned out to be a lemon meringue pie—all sweet promise and sour reality.

Variants and Related Words

• Lemon pie (noun): A more general term for any pie with a lemon-based filling, which may or may not have a meringue topping. A lemon meringue pie is a specific type of lemon pie.
• Meringue pie (noun): A general term for any pie topped with meringue. The filling can be chocolate, banana, lime, etc.

Synonyms

• There are no direct single-word synonyms. Descriptive phrases include "meringue-topped lemon pie" or "lemon custard pie with meringue."

Related Phrases

• To be/sit on a meringue: An informal, humorous phrase sometimes used to describe the high, fluffy topping of a lemon meringue pie.
  • The pie was spectacular, with the lemon curd barely visible under a mountain of meringue.

Noun

1. pie containing lemon custard and topped with meringue