Interrogation by using Third Degree ?

Question

We know 'third degree' means intensive questioning involving rough treatment especially in polic interrogation. But which are first two degrees ? And where do we use them ?

Answer 1

Giving someone the third degree does not imply physical abuse or torture in Modern English, it only implies intense questioning. I can give my daughter the third degree after she comes home late from a date without touching her or subjecting her to any kind of abuse. It only means very intense questioning. And the correct usage of the phrase is ALWAYS "to give someone the third degree".

It comes from the ritual of the Master Mason degree in Freemasonry. That is the "third degree" of Masonry. The ritual concerns a man who must keep a secret. He is accosted by three ruffians who physically assault him and question him trying to get the secret. That is the origin of the phrase "to give someone the third degree" and its reference to intense questioning. While there is a first and second degree in Freemasonry, there is no questioning in those degrees, thus you cannot "give someone the first degree" or "the second degree" with reference to questioning. It is only the "third degree" in which questioning is given.