third degree
See also: third-degree
English
Etymology
The phrase comes from the practice of interrogation under torture, where three degrees of torture were recognised, of increasing intensity. In other contexts, three degrees of interrogation were recognised, with torture being the third degree. (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun
third degree
- (informal) Intensive rough interrogation in order to extract information or a confession
- When I came home at 4 a.m., my dad really gave me the third degree.
- 2020, Jinee Lokaneeta, The Truth Machines, University of Michigan Press, →ISBN, page 168:
- In the book I use the terms "third degree" and "torture" interchangeably because "third degree" has become synonymous with torture and the interviewees often used them interchangeably.
Usage notes
Chiefly used in the expression give someone the third degree.
Translations
Translations
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See also
- Spanish Inquisition
Further reading
- “the third degree” (US) / “the third degree” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
- “the third degree” in the Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- “the third degree”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
- “give somebody the third degree” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.