third hand
Speech parts
1. third hand - Noun
2. third hand - Adjective
Meaning
A tool used to squeeze caliper brakes against the rim of a wheel, as on a bicycle, thereby allowing adjustments to the brake cable.
A second remove from direct communication.
I heard the story from someone who got it from the horse's mouth. You're getting it at third hand.
Having been relayed by two intermediate sources.
(idiomatic) Not new, having more than one previous owner.
Source: en.wiktionary.orgAlternative names
third-hand
Examples
He says the hope is the robot will act as a "third hand for the overworked line cooks and chefs in America."
The English version is like third hand.
Both were at second and third hand; neither had much on his personal life.
We bought, second or third hand, a huge, hot-air stove which we installed in the cellar.
And, on the third hand, we have category theory!
As she put it, “It helps to have a third hand.”