three-way

See also: threeway

English

Etymology

The sense referring to a serving of Cincinnati chili was coined in the 1920s by Tom and John Kiradjieff, Slavic-Macedonian immigrants to Cincinnati, for their Empress Chili chain.[1]

Adjective

three-way (not comparable)

  1. (attributive) Relating to three different directions.
    a three-way valve
    • 1951 April, “British Railway Signalling since 1925”, in Railway Magazine, number 600, page 229, photo caption:
      Three-aspect colour-light signal with three-way junction indicator, Bow Junction, Eastern Region

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

three-way (plural three-ways)

  1. Sexual activity involving three individuals.
    Synonyms: threesome, ménage à trois
    • 1992, Dennis Cooper, Frisk, page 117:
      A guy Julian and you had a three-way with millions of years ago. I used to watch you guys screw through the keyhole sometimes.
    • 1995, Deborah Abbott, Ellen Farmer, From Wedded Wife to Lesbian Life: Stories of Transformation, page 263:
      I had a three-way with two other women in my class.
    • 2002 February 3, Allan Heinberg, “A ‘Vogue’ Idea”, in Sex and the City, season 4, episode 17, spoken by Samantha:
      Is a three-way with a 21-year-old a bad idea for Richard's birthday?
    • 2007, Lainie Speiser, Threesomes: For Couples Who Want to Know More, page 22:
      But how many men will actually admit to having had a three-way with another man and one woman?
    • 2024 February 13, Wendy Syfret, “Hi Octane: Sofia Coppola’s starry 90s series feels like a gen X fever dream”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:
      Supermodel Jenny Shimizu provides mechanic tips (and hints at a previous three-way with Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista).
  2. (Cincinnati) A serving of Cincinnati chili with spaghetti and cheese.
  3. Synonym of three-card monte

Alternative forms

Hyponyms

(sexual activity involving three individuals):

Coordinate terms

Translations
sexual activity — see threesome

References
  1. Woellert, Dann (2013) The Authentic History of Cincinnati Chili‎, The History Press, →ISBN, retrieved November 20, 2015, page 29:
    Coming from such a cultural crossroads, the brothers Kiradjieff spoke Macedonian, Bulgarian, Greek, Turkish and English. But they also created another language: the chili lingo that is still used today when ordering at a chili parlor. To aid in ordering, 'chili spaghetti with cheese on top' was shortened to 'three-way'. This was done to let servers shout their orders quickly to the cooks during a busy lunchtime.

Anagrams
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