A fifth wheel is almost worse than the notoriously annoying “third wheel.”
- Ellen McGarrity
… Let me clarify. My brother, who is one year younger than me, has had a serious girlfriend for the past four years. So whenever I am with them, I am, of course, the third wheel.
But as Bridget Jones observed in her first movie, “The only thing worse than a smug married couple is lots of smug married couples.”
She’s got a point. Add in my parents and I become the “fifth wheel”. Whenever my brother’s girlfriend is over, there are two couples — my mom and dad and my brother and his girlfriend — making me the odd (wo)man out.
I haven’t had a serious boyfriend during my college years — only short-lived relationships. So even though I am genuinely happy for my brother’s fortune (clich