# three Stooges

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/three-stooges
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

A group of three stupid people.

## Examples

- Those three guys are acting like the Three Stooges.
- The project failed because the Three Stooges in the office forgot to save the files.
- The committee members bickered incessantly, appearing to the rest of the staff as nothing more than the Three Stooges.

## Origin

From The Three Stooges (1922-1970), a comedy troupe whose stage act and short films featured three quarrelsome and absurd characters of low intelligence, given to insults and violent slapstick, who often stood in contrast with or were manipulated by characters of a higher social class.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.