Meanings
- colloquialuncountableA notional drink, a positive thing that one makes by making the best of dilemmas one faces.
When life deals you a dilemma, just make dilemmanade If you let your attitude go bad, it doesn't take very long for that negative feeling to get passed on to your staff and then to your customers.
1988, Nursery Manager2 more examples
This is truly a dilemma. But as my guru harry Cohen Baba once told me, when you're faced with a dilemma, the only thing to do is make dilemmanade. Yes, we need a new approach, something truly revolutionary and earth-shaking.
1993, Swami Beyondananda, Steve Bhaerman, When you see a sacred cow-- milk it for all it's worth, →ISBNThe citizens could easily obtain weapons equal to the grade of the weapons that the military was using in the 1790s. Today, that means that we have a slight bit of a dilemma, because citizens probably shouldn't have mutated Smallpox and agent orange just sitting around in their basements. but, you know the saying; if life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Conversely, if life gives you a dilemma, make dilemmanade.
2013, Nathan Richendollar, Sic Semper Res Publica, →ISBN, page 123
Origin
Blend of dilemma + lemonade. Usually occurs in phrases that mirror or reference when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
dilemmanade. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dilemmanade
“dilemmanade.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dilemmanade. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dilemmanade,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dilemmanade.
Source: dilemmanade on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.