second cousin

(redirected from second cousin to)

second cousin

Slightly similar or related to something else, while being noticeably different or unique. Usually followed by "to" or "of (something)." It's clear that, from design, power, and aesthetic, their new sports car is second cousin to the classic muscle cars of the 1950s.

second cousin

Something that is related or similar but not quite the same, as in This beef stew is second cousin to boeuf bourguignon. This expression transfers the literal sense of second cousin-that is, the child of the first cousin of one's mother or father-a usage dating from the mid-1600s.

See also: cousin, second

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

See also:

References in classic literature ?

Here also were the valiant Earl of Angus, Sir Thomas Banaster with his garter over his greave, Sir Nele Loring, second cousin to Sir Nigel, and a long column of Welsh footmen who marched under the red banner of Merlin.

View in context

Julie Smallwood, aged 58, a retired secretary from Solihull, is a second cousin to Frederick.

Boxing hope Frederick's life cut short

Today, his son, Gaston Azcarraga Andrade, a second cousin to Televisa CEO Emilio Azcarraga Jean, directs the largest hotel chain in the country, Grupo Posadas.

Rooms with a view: Mexico's biggest hotel chain is looking across the region --and to a new airline--for growth

Brett would be second cousin to Falwell's children, and Brett's father is first cousin to the Reverend Falwell.

reader forum

A FORMER school principal from Northern Ireland has claimed he is the grandson of murdered Russian Tsar Nicholas II and second cousin to Queen Elizabeth.

If the claims are true, he would be the half brother of the Duke of Kent and Prince Michael of Kent and second cousin to the Queen.

TSAR NICHOLAS WAS MY GRANDFATHER; Former headmaster says Russian royal escaped to Northern Ireland