What?s the Word – Some words are not fifth wheels

Since there?s really nothing going on right now to inspire a theme-based word column, I?m just going to choose some random words and terms that have piqued my fancy over the years. Hopefully readers will find them interesting as well.

The first is a phrase that may be seen in more than one form, and that is ?fifth wheel? or sometimes ?third wheel.? These phrases have actually separated folks into two camps, with most leaning toward the ?fifth wheel? group. Everyone seems to agree both forms means a superfluous member of a group, someone not needed, or in some cases, unwanted by said group. Of course, fifth wheel seems to make the most sense, in that, obviously, who needs a fifth wheel when four will do the job quite adequately?

My research revealed that there isn?t a sign of ?third wheel? in popular dictionaries and books that document idiomatic phrases. But it?s a different matter on the Internet, where a search turned up a large number of hits for both third wheel and fifth wheel. At first I thought maybe ?third wheel? was being confused with ?three is a crowd,? but apparently not so.

As one digs deeper, and goes further back into time, there turns out to be a fascinating history, and explanation, for each of the phrases, with both, not surprisingly, stemming from vehicles, in this case, two different types of horse-drawn carriages.

One item that turned up was the fact that some early four-wheel carriages actually had a fifth wheel, mounted horizontally that rotated on an axle that aided the carriage to turn in a smaller radius, which, oddly enough, is still a feature on some tractor-trailer trucks today. However, while interesting, it?s obvious this doesn?t fit in with the meaning of the phrase because it wouldn?t be considered unnecessary.

Another interesting origin, found in ?Brewer?s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable,? is that there was often a spare wheel, ?a cumbersome object carried at the rear of the carriage, where it had to be unlashed and re-lashed whenever it was necessary to retrieve a piece of luggage from the storage space behind it.? Now, while this wheel certainly wasn?t superfluous in an emergency, it was definitely a nuisance, which fits right in with the tagalong person hypothesis.

However, as it turns out, ?third wheel? isn?t so far afield either. What most people forget is that not all carriages had four wheels. Many, like the famous one-horse-shay, or chaise, had only two wheels. Most horse drawn carts had only two wheels as well. So the term ?third wheel? is certainly not new, and has been in use for over 100 years. Go figure.

And now on to a medical term that has always made me curious. It?s ?placebo.? These days it?s generally describes a pill or tablet with no active ingredients. But the term has been around for a long time. The word itself comes from the Latin verb, placere, which means ?to please? or ?to be agreeable.? The first person form of this verb is ?placebo? which means, ?I will please.?

The medical meaning of placebo turned up in the late 18th century. Hooper?s medical dictionary lists placebo as ?an epithet given to any medicine adapted more to please than benefit the patient.? Though placebos are currently used as controls in trials of new drugs, the original use was simply to keep a patient happy ? in other words, to ?please.? Oddly enough, some studies have shown that placebos have actually appeared to have a beneficial effect on some patients, even though no real drug was involved.

Just goes to show you how sometimes it really is all in your head.

Charlie Johnson is news editor of the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].