{"id":6765,"date":"2022-08-01T18:08:51","date_gmt":"2022-08-01T18:08:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=6765"},"modified":"2022-08-01T18:08:51","modified_gmt":"2022-08-01T18:08:51","slug":"third-wheeling-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/third-wheeling-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Third Wheeling \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did some just accuse you of 'third-wheeling'<\/em> it? What do they mean? This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n

Meaning<\/h2>\n

The expression 'third-wheeling'<\/em> refers to a person that tags along on a date with a couple. A 'third-whee<\/em>l' is someone who doesn't have a date but comes along to hang out with their friends anyway. Third-wheeling can leave the couple feeling frustrated with the person, or they may enjoy the person's company.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Men and women are capable of 'third-wheeling<\/em>,' and there is no specific gender applying to the term. Third-wheels typically don't have a date because they think they can't find a partner or have experienced a recent breakup and are looking for company when they go out.<\/p>\n

Example Usage<\/h2>\n

\u201cYeah, I know you and Kim are going to the movies, and you don\u2019t mind if I tag along. But I\u2019ll feel like I\u2019m third-wheeling it all night, so I\u2019ll pass, thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at that dude over there third-wheeling it with that couple. What a loser, you think he would find someone for himself or just leave them alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad I was never a third-wheeler when I was young. I never had a problem finding a partner myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do you think<\/p>\n

people decide that third-wheeling is okay? I mean, don\u2019t they feel embarrassed that they don\u2019t have someone with them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would look such a fool if I were a third-wheeler like that guy. I bet he\u2019s such a loser that he\u2019s never had a girlfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can always tell when someone\u2019s a third-wheeler. The couple is all over each other, and they stand around acting like they don\u2019t notice it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are you over here third-wheeling it with this couple? Don\u2019t you have somewhere else to be?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

Origin<\/h2>\n

The expression 'third-wheeling' comes from a 1949 citation from the Saturday Evening Post. The phrase appears in the short story \"Decadent Angel,\" written by Phyllis Duganne when it reads as follows.<\/p>\n

\"Certainly, I was jealous of Springer since I was more than half in love with Campaspe. I remember once, in a childish outburst of temper, that I told Springer I was sick of being the perpetual 'gooseberry,' the unnecessary third wheel.\"<\/p>\n

This example of the expression from 1949 beats the earliest reference in 'The Corpus of Historical American English' by almost six years. The phrase also appeared in 1955, the first appearance of the expression in connection to someone tagging along on a date with two other people.<\/p>\n

\"Bunty ... had said repeatedly in the last few days that Joe was up to something, that the double date wasn't a generous gesture but a trick of some kind, a vengeful way of getting even and adding a fourth wheel because he was sick of being a third wheel.\"<\/p>\n

The phrase saw its use spread across the United States, becoming commonplace in culture by the 1970s. The modern version of \u2018third-wheeling\u2019 first appears in the Urban Dictionary in 2007.<\/p>\n