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Thirdhand for Dummies

adjective


What does Thirdhand really mean?

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Description:

Hey there! So, let's talk about the word "thirdhand". Now, "thirdhand" is not a super common word that we use every day, but it's still important to understand what it means. So, imagine you have this shirt that you just got from a friend. Before you got it, your friend wore it, right? And before your friend wore it, someone else probably wore it too. Well, that's kind of like how "thirdhand" works, but instead of talking about clothes, we're talking about information or things that have happened.

Definition:

Now, the word "thirdhand" actually has a couple of definitions, so let's explore them one by one.

Definition 1: When we say something is "thirdhand", it means that the information or knowledge we have about it comes from someone who heard it from someone else, who in turn heard it from another person. It's like hearing a story from a friend, who heard it from their cousin, who heard it from their neighbor. So, by the time the information reaches you, it has passed through three different people. It's sort of like playing a game of telephone, where the original message changes a bit each time it's passed along.

Definition 2: Another way we can use "thirdhand" is to describe things that are left behind from someone else. Imagine you walk into a room and you can still smell the perfume or cologne of someone who was there earlier. That lingering smell is like a "thirdhand" trace of where they were. It's a bit like when you borrow a pen from a friend, and even after you give it back, there's still a bit of their handwriting left on the page when you use that pen. That leftover trace is also a "thirdhand" mark.

Examples:

To help you understand better, let's look at a couple of examples.

Example 1: Imagine you hear a rumor about a new game coming out. You tell your friend, who then tells their brother, and their brother tells their friend who works at the game company. By the time that information gets to you, it's "thirdhand" because it has been passed along from three different people before reaching you.

Example 2: Let's say you walk into a room and notice that it smells like cookies. However, you didn't bake any cookies recently. It turns out your mom baked some earlier, and even though she cleaned up, that sweet smell lingers in the room. That smell is a "thirdhand" reminder that something happened there earlier.

Conclusion:

So, "thirdhand" can describe information that has passed through several people or things that are left behind by someone else. Whether it's a story, a smell, or even marks left on an object, "thirdhand" refers to the third step in a chain of passing along or leaving behind. Understanding the concept of "thirdhand" helps us be aware that sometimes the information or traces we receive may not be entirely accurate or immediate. So, keep in mind that it's always good to double-check facts and sources to get the most reliable information possible.

Revised and Fact checked by Robert Taylor on 2023-10-30 06:01:40

Thirdhand In a sentece

Learn how to use Thirdhand inside a sentece

  • After someone smokes a cigarette, the smell of smoke can stick to their clothes and hair. This smell that lingers on their clothes and hair is called thirdhand smoke.
  • When you spill some coffee on a piece of furniture and it leaves a stain that is hard to remove, that stain is considered thirdhand coffee.
  • Imagine you borrowed a book from a friend and they ate snacks while reading it. The leftover crumbs and smudges from their snacks on the pages of the book would be called thirdhand food residue.
  • In a rented apartment, if the previous tenant used strong-smelling cleaning products that have left a lingering odor, that odor can be referred to as thirdhand cleaner smell.
  • If you touch a freshly painted wall and some paint rubs off onto your hand, that paint on your hand would be considered thirdhand paint.

Thirdhand Similar Words

Words that similar to the original word, but are not synonyms.