Hello everyone!
Welcome to Idiom 100, where we learn 100 commonly used idioms by native English speakers.
All of the explanations are in English, so it might be challenging for you,
but just try to imagine the meanings in your head and study hard and soon you'll be able to use these idioms in your conversations.
Is everyone ready? Let's begin.
Hello everyone!
Today's idiom is: fifth wheel.
Fifth wheel.
Alright, so let's imagine you're in a car and how many wheels does a car have?
Well, usually four. Four wheels, right?
But, this car has a fifth wheel. It has five wheels.
And the first 4 wheels are good, but the fifth wheel, do you need it?
Maybe not.
So, let's imagine this car with 5 wheels. It's kind of funny.
Alright, and let's listen to some examples.
I felt like a fifth wheel when I went to Disneyland with my two friends and their boyfriends.
That must have been awkward. You should take your boyfriend next time too.
Alright, so there were two couples and one extra person.
She was the fifth wheel and they said it must have been awkward.
Yeah, kind of two and two, four and one more, maybe not needed, kind of strange.
Okay, let's listen to another example.
Are there any bad points to working in groups during class?
The only bad thing is feeling like a fifth wheel and not being part of the team.
Okay, so they were working in groups and she said she felt like a fifth wheel, not part of the team, okay?
So, if you guessed it, 'fifth wheel' means kind of to be extra and to feel out of place.
Maybe you don't belong, you feel awkward and it's usually used in a situation with dates or couples.
So, there's two and two and you're extra and you feel kind of uncomfortable, you shouldn't be there.
Okay, and we also often say 'third wheel' and it has the same meaning.
Yeah, there's two, maybe husband and wife and the best friend is kind of the third wheel.
Or if you have two couples and best friend is the fifth wheel.
So, you can use either of these in this kind of situation when you might feel out of place or someone else.
For example, if you want to go to dinner with your husband and his friend, but you think it might be awkward,
you could say, 'I don't think we should invite him. He might feel like a third wheel.'
Or if you have two couples, 'He might feel like a fifth wheel.'
Alright, so I hope you don't have any fifth wheels in your situation and I'll see you again next time.