| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| fifth wheel | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a spare wheel for a four-wheeled vehicle |
| 2. | a. the coupling table of an articulated vehicle |
| b. a steering bearing that enables the front axle of a horse-drawn vehicle to rotate relative to the body | |
| 3. | a superfluous or unnecessary person or thing |
A hanger-on; a person who serves no function: “The vice president felt like a fifth wheel after his exclusion from the committee.”
fifth wheel definition
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fifth wheel
An extra and unnecessary person or thing, as in He was the only one without a date, so he felt like a fifth wheel. This expression, which alludes to an unneeded wheel on a four-wheel vehicle, may have originated as long ago as 1631, when Thomas Dekker wrote Match Me in London: "Thou tiest but wings to a swift gray Hounds heel, And addest to a running Chariot a fifth wheel."