![A Secret Third Thing monty hall door secret 3rd thing](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/mobile/000/041/726/70s-doors1.jpg)
A Secret Third Thing
Part of a series on Catchphrases. [View Related Entries]
About
A Secret Third Thing, sometimes written as "A Secret, More Complex Third Thing," is a catchphrase and phrasal template popularized on Twitter in the summer of 2022 with the template, "I am neither X nor Y but a secret third thing."
Origin
The template appears to have originated from a doctored image macro of a dog with the phrase "I'm neither joking nor serious but another secret third thing." On May 25th, 2022, Twitter user @snafuqd[1] tweeted the earliest known post with the image, gaining over 3,200 retweets and 13,000 likes (shown below).
![Doggo I'm neither joking nor serious but another secret third thing](https://a.kym-cdn.com/assets/blank-b3f96f160b75b1b49b426754ba188fe8.gif)
Spread
Over the following several months, the template began going viral on Twitter as people replaced "joking" and "serious" with other verbs. For example, on August 2nd, 2022, user @sillymonkey[2] tweeted, "im not horny or scared anymore but a secret third thing," gaining over 2,700 retweets and 19,000 likes in one month (shown below, left). On August 16th, Twitter user @rundizzy[3] tweeted, "not hungry or full but a secret third thing," gaining over 40 retweets and 300 likes in two weeks (shown below, right).
![Horny/Scared grimace @sillymonkey im not horny or scared anymore but a secret third thing 1:37 PM. Aug 2, 2022 TweetDeck](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/431/700/f1c.png)
![Hungry/Full dizzy @rundizzy not hungry or full but a secret third thing 6:01 PM - Aug 16, 2022 Twitter for iPhone](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/431/713/86f.png)
Starting August 28th, Twitter user @daughter_ion began tweeting jokes, that added "secret, more complex third thing" as the punchline. For example, that day, she tweeted,[4] "we saw you from across the bar and we really dig ur vibe. my boyfriend and i are looking for a secret, more complex third thing," gaining over 300 likes in three days (shown below, left). Others began adopting this iteration of the meme. For example, on August 31st, user @nicolerichle[5] tweeted "iām not a girl, not yet a woman but a secret more complex third thing," gaining over 30 retweets and 300 likes in one day (shown below, right).
![More Complex Third leigh @daughter_ion we saw you from across the bar and we really dig ur vibe. my boyfriend and i are looking for a secret, more complex third thing 11:14 AM. Aug 28, 2022 Twitter for iPhone ā¢ ...](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/431/714/b83.png)
![Britney Lyrics joyci schecter @nicolerichle i'm not a girl, not yet complex third thing woman but a secret more 12:45 PM. Aug 31, 2022 Twitter for iPhone ā¢](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/431/715/a1c.png)
Various Examples
![Alcoholic/Sober horse powder @JuliusIrvington not an alcoholic or sober but a secret third thing 10:14 PM. Aug 29, 2022 Twitter for iPhone](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/431/716/070.png)
![Between jobs ppigg @s4m31p4n Not employed or unemployed but a secret third option 4:16 PM. Aug 27, 2022 Twitter for iPhone](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/431/717/660.png)
![Experimental/Theorist physicist @Finite Physicist im neither an experimentalist nor a theorist but a secret third thing 1:39 PM . Aug 31, 2022. Twitter for Android](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/431/718/49c.png)
![Squirting Or Peeing skeleton bride @gnosticmilf not squirting or peeing but a secret third thing 11:19 PM . Aug 31, 2022. Twitter for iPhone](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/431/719/7e2.png)
![Gay/Trans sentient @NEVERLOGGINGOUT im not gay or transgender but a secret third more complicated thing 6:50 AM. Aug 31, 2022 Twitter Web App](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/431/720/2db.png)
![Rick and Morty harry @harry i'm not rick or morty but a secret third thing 6:52 PM. Aug 29, 2022 Twitter for iPhone](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/431/721/0e1.png)
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