three's a crowd

Idioms  

1. Also, two's company, three's a crowd. A third person spoils the ideal combination of a couple, as in No, I won't join you—three's a crowd. This expression, alluding to a third person spoiling the privacy of a pair of lovers, was already a proverb in 1546. For a synonym, see fifth wheel.

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Example Sentences

Two’s company but three’s a crowd in the thriller “Stalked by My Husband’s Ex.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 17, 2020

But Jake and Emily turned three’s a crowd into three’s company, peppering me with as many questions as I had for them.

From Washington Post • Oct. 9, 2019

Suddenly, the show’s central relationship went from two’s company to three’s a crowd, with the extra appendage a shiny deadweight with a boyband centre parting.

From The Guardian • Aug. 7, 2017

As much as last weekend proved that two mega-hit films could both reach their maximum potential, apparently three’s a crowd as we are still waiting for the fabled “three $50m movies in one weekend” frame.

From Forbes • Jun. 28, 2015

If three's a crowd, five's a perfect regiment.

From Brenda, Her School and Her Club by Reed, Helen Leah