thirteenth reason
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.36 in modern English
22
Scrabble Score
16
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A relatively minor annoyance or inconvenience, jokingly implied to be the "last straw" that will motivate someone to commit suicide.
Example Sentences
- "I swear, if you don't cut that out, you'll be my thirteenth reason why."
- "This post will be my thirteenth reason."
- "My thirteenth reason is Shake telling Deepti he's going to get her pregnant"
- "found the short voicemail from when harry called me and i missed it. my thirteenth reason."
- "[…] "This class will be my thirteenth reason why." ¶ These are all so-called harmless statements I have heard from my peers. And when someone hears these words and expresses concern, the young person often responds dismissively with, "Calm down, I was just joking.""
- "A TikTok captured fans screaming at an employee delivering the news that the concert had been cancelled. ¶ "It isn't our fault. We want to make this as easy for you as possible. Unfortunately, the concert this evening has been postponed," said the employee. ¶ "This is my thirteenth reason," a fan shouted in the crowd."
Etymology
Originally from the best-selling novel Thirteen Reasons Why (2007) by Jay Asher and popularized by the television adaptation 13 Reasons Why (2017–2020). The plot of the novel and series follows high school student Hannah Baker who kills herself and leaves a box of cassette tapes detailing thirteen reasons for taking her own life.