# What does "Double-wide" connote? (Non-American asking) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 17, 2022, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705 "2022-12-17T16:49:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/1 "2022-12-17T16:49:40Z")
In another thread, @LSLGuy made this comment: > [@Trump makes major announcement December 15. What is it? {Just digital trading cards of Trump}](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-makes-major-announcement-december-15-what-is-it-just-digital-trading-cards-of-trump/976531/248): > > At a point in his [Trump’s] descent that the frothing MAGAs are a spent force who’ve mostly retreated to their double-wides and reality TV. I didn’t want to hijack the thread, but it’s the first time I ever came across the expression “Double-wide”. It’s easy to google it but less easy to get at what precisely is meant here. For my fellow non-Americans, it’s a large (uh, double wide?) mobile home on a trailer park, I believe. And I think the point being made here is that someone living in a double wide thinks they are doing pretty well for themselves - but in reality, of course, they’re still just living on a trailer park. So - something to do with unrealistic, unjustified pride, and overestimating self worth? Am I close? Or am I reading way too much into it? And if I am close, is this a common use of the expression, or a neat new coinage? Oh, and any similar expressions I should be looking out for? j ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/5 "2022-12-17T16:58:28Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > For my fellow non-Americans, it’s a large (uh, double wide?) mobile home on a trailer park, I believe. Correct. It’s a cheap home. A trailer that has had its wheels removed. The owner likely doesn’t even own the land it’s on. It’s a shorthand reference to a lower class person. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/6 "2022-12-17T16:59:02Z")
[This](https://www.drbukk.com/content/the-trailer-park-23) will provide a pretty good introduction into the culture in question (warning: turn your volume down). ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/7 "2022-12-17T16:59:46Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > And I think the point being made here is that someone living in a double wide thinks they are doing pretty well for themselves - but in reality, of course, they’re still just living on a trailer park. People with double-wides don’t tend to be packed into trailer parks but have them as individual home on their own plots of land. And can run up to $200,000 or more after financing. And have vastly more living space than a city apartment. So, usually what the smear means is that the labeler is a snob and a bigot. > **[Clayton Homes - Review, Pricing, and Buyer's Guide](https://rethority.com/clayton-homes-review/)** > > Searching for a Clayton Homes review? Look no further than our guide. We'll cover customer reviews, pricing, and the best models. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/8 "2022-12-17T17:07:53Z")
The reason they are called double wides is because a single wide is standard – it’s the legal width to move on a highway. Double wides are made in halves, so each is moved to its final location separately, and then they get fastened together to make a complete house. There are upscale ones, sure, but the term denotes a rural person who has few space or zoning constraints, who grades out a pad and buys the cheapest quickest possible reasonable-sized home. It 's shorthand for a certain type of rural culture. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/9 "2022-12-17T17:11:17Z")
BTW, what the “double-wide” part _means_ is that the segments of the house are built off-site and trucked to the final location (and therefore have to fit on US roads). A single-wide" is sized to move in one section, double-wides need two modules, and triple-wides need three. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/10 "2022-12-17T17:12:01Z")
Yeah, I’ve usually heard it as a sort of mocking comment intended to put down people who live in them. Basically the idea is that mobile homes of any stripe are inherently inferior to site-built homes, and by extension so are the people who live in them. The mockery is usually along the lines that someone is so white trash that they bought a bigger pile of crap rather than moving into a ‘real’ house (i.e. site-built). Having worked for a mobile home company for a few months, I can say that the company definitely aimed at being a value option for people in the market for a home, especially in rural areas. From what I gathered, it was one of those things where it apparently wasn’t uncommon for people to inherit or otherwise have a parcel of land, but not be able to afford to have a builder come out and build a house on it, but they could afford a mobile home of some kind to be built and transported to it. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/11 "2022-12-17T17:13:48Z")
Yup, it means a trailer home. Wider than average, but nothing fancy. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Qp5eRYMWm0Y/maxresdefault.jpg "Doublewide") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp5eRYMWm0Y) ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/12 "2022-12-17T17:16:08Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > So - something to do with unrealistic, unjustified pride, and overestimating self worth? As noted otherwise, a double-wide is a type of mobile home. It’s twice as wide as a standard, hence roomier. As a category, mobile homes are almost always coded as rural and lower status (because their occupants almost always are). Double wides specifically are the top of that class, so they’re an ironic stand-in for “top of the bottom” as relates to social status. source: grew up in a double-wide in a trailer park for part of my life. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/13 "2022-12-17T17:23:05Z")
One source of confusion is that in some parts of the US, “trailer” is used to refer to a mobile home (has its own wheels, like a bus) that can be moved around and parked in different places, while in others, it means a manufactured home that can be put onto a truck and moved elsewhere (maybe a couple of times). The term “double-wide” would refer to the 2-piece house-like option, not the bus-like option. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/14 "2022-12-17T17:26:07Z")
We own a double-wide. It’s quite nice. 1800 square feet, three bedrooms, two baths. The construction isn’t as good as our primary home, but we didn’t have any worries buying it when we were looking for a “Summer” house. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/15 "2022-12-17T17:27:25Z")
Thanks guys! Feels like I was fairly close in my understanding then. (I should add that this thread is in no way intended as a knock on @LSLGuy - I hope he will pass by and add to the discussion). I get the feeling that the term (used to identify a rural - and hence typically right-leaning? - type) is reasonably well known/understood; but that it’s not a commonplace expression - correct? Specifically regarding the idea of (this use of) double-wide connoting the overestimation of self worth - was that correct? (Almost along the lines of the character in the song “Yankee Doodle”). j ETA - and I’m not having a dig at @beowulff either! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/16 "2022-12-17T17:30:31Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Specifically regarding the idea of (this use of) double-wide connoting the overestimation of self worth - was that correct? No, it is more of a sneering judgement that someone is morally inferior because they are poor. “Trailer-trash” is a similar slur. > **[Trailer trash](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trailer_trash)** > > Trailer trash is a derogatory North American English term for poor people living in a trailer or a mobile home. It is particularly used to denigrate white people living in such circumstances. > In the mid-20th century, poor whites who could not afford to buy suburban-style tract housing began to purchase mobile homes, which were not only cheaper but could be easily relocated if work in one location ran out. These – sometimes by choice and sometimes through local zoning laws – gathered in trailer ... ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/17 "2022-12-17T17:41:08Z")
Here’s our double-wide. San Francisco Peaks in the background: [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/2uzmwIf.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/1xeEe6d) ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/18 "2022-12-17T17:43:07Z")
Nice! Is that situated on someone’s farm, or something like that? j ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/19 "2022-12-17T17:46:04Z")
My parents lived in a doublewide for a few years, and it was nice. On the inside, you’d almost never know you were in a trailer. A tornado siren would remind you. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/20 "2022-12-17T17:46:40Z")
Kansas City’s Boulevard Brewing used to have a delicious IPA called Double Wide. The motto on the label was “It’s Twister Proof” [![](https://d2sochvv0rudri.cloudfront.net/beer_labels/10262/boulevard-double-wide-ipa.jpg) ](https://d2sochvv0rudri.cloudfront.net/beer_labels/10262/boulevard-double-wide-ipa.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/21 "2022-12-17T17:48:04Z")
🎶_Well, I got me a double-wide You can hardly tell it’s a trailer from the inside_ [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FNNUpD6U-K8/maxresdefault.jpg "This Train - You're Soaking in It - 05 - Monstertruck") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNNUpD6U-K8) ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/22 "2022-12-17T17:51:12Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > My parents lived in a doublewide for a few years, and it was nice. On the inside, you’d almost never know you were in a trailer. My mom lived in one for a period of time. As stated, it was nice on the inside. The biggest difference, it seemed to me, were the walls: they weren’t made of sturdier materials like brick, but instead were lighter/flimsier. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/23 "2022-12-17T17:53:26Z")
It’s a fairly rural area about 20 miles West of Flagstaff, AZ. It is on “open range,” so herds of cows come by periodically and eat the weeds. We don’t have grass, so we get lots of pretty wildflowers in the warm months. It’s right across I-40 from the [IKRC](https://www.meditationinnorthernarizona.org), which is why we bought it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705.md?page=2)