When there are two couples and a fifth person who is not in a couple, the extra person is known as a fifth wheel - a situation in which may feel uncomfortable to some people
Etymology:
- It is a 16thcentury French proverb. Since we know that all vehicles have specific wheels for them, for instance a unicycle is comprised of one wheel, a bicycle has two, there are three wheels in tricycle and cars, buses and wagons have four wheels, there is not a vehicle which has five wheels. The fifth wheel we can say is additional, not needed or extra. In the same way any person joining the two couples will be a “fifth wheel”.
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Bert and his wife and Ernie and his wife are going. Oscar said he didn't want to go with them because he would feel like a fifth wheel.
Submitted by TriplePurple on April 14, 2024
Modified by TriplePurple on April 14, 2024
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"fifth wheel." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 Dec. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/fifth-wheel_64278>.
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