third degree

¹

noun

1. intensive questioning or rough treatment, especially by the police, in order to get information or a confession.

2. the degree of master mason in Freemasonry.

third-degree

²

[thurd-di-gree]

verb (used with object)

third-degreed, third-degreeing 

1. to subject to the third degree.

adjective

1. of or relating to the third degree.

third degree

noun

1. informal,  torture or bullying, esp used to extort confessions or information

Word History and Origins

Origin of third degree¹

First recorded in 1860–65

Origin of third degree²

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

Idioms and Phrases

Intensive questioning or rough treatment used to obtain information or a confession, as in The detectives gave her the third degree, or Jim gave her the third degree when she came home so late. This term comes from freemasonry, where a candidate receives the third or highest degree, that of master mason, upon passing an intensive test. Dating from the 1770s, the phrase was transferred to other kinds of interrogation in the late 1800s.