Break from the Grind February 2, 2015
TRIVIAL PURSUITS: From where does the phrase ‘giving someone the third degree’ originate?
Reported by PLANSPONSOR staff
Answer: The third degree is the highest degree in Freemasonry—a master mason. Masons are subject to intensive testing to qualify for the third degree. This is why, in the late 1800s, exhaustive questioning came to be known as ‘giving someone the third degree.’