On the mailing list of the Morse Telegraph Club, someone asked:
Does anyone have any history on the term “lid” when referring to a telegrapher’s capability? How did it originate and what is the significance if any of each letter?
To which, someone replied:
One explanation was that when a relay office Telegrapher couldn’t handle the work on the wire he was assigned to, he was “lifted” off the job and reassigned or let go. In telegrapher parlance, when discussing such events over the wires, other operators shortened the word ” lifted” to ” li’d”. Over time a poor or incapable operator that had been or was about to be “lifted” became known as a “LID”.
This explanation is a new one for me. The story that most often makes the rounds in amateur radio circles is that some telegraphers used the lid of a Prince Albert tobacco can to better hear the sounder. These fellows were, in general, poor operators, and “lid” became the designation of any poor operator.
I like this explanation better, though. It just makes more sense. It was always unclear to me how strategically placing a tobacco can lid near a sounder would make it louder or more intelligible.
Yeah whomever said “lid” came from the Prince Albert can top was obviously a stoner in the 60’s.
Weed was sold by “the lid”, not by weight back then. A Lid of weed was one mason jar lid full of Mary Jane, level at the top, which ended up being about 28 grams of weed and was about “four fingers” across. Over time as scales became more the norm, it began to be sold by weight, and an ounce of weed was still called a “lid”.
“Man, the dude shorted me on my lid. I only got about three fingers worth.” would imply the seller didn’t fill the lid all the way to the top (shorted you).
As I recall, a Lid sold for about 15~20 bucks back then depending on the supplier.
If you didn’t want a whole ounce of weed, you could buy a “box” which was a matchbox full, about enough to make a nice a nice torpedo or two.