system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What does the phrase "twice removed" or even "removed" mean when referring to a family member?

I never understood this, is it actually a thing or is it just a phrase?
e.g. My cousin, twice removed/

Thanks in advance for the answers.
gpt
All that removed means is that there's a generational difference from you.  Your parents' first cousins are your first cousins once removed.  Your grandparents' first cousins are your first cousins twice removed.  So it goes up or down (your cousins' kids are your first cousins once removed as well.)

First and second and third and so on indicate how many generations you have to go back to find first cousins.  Your first cousins are your parents' siblings' kids.  When you have kids and your first cousins have kids, those kids will be second cousins (and your first cousin once removed).  When those kids have kids, they will be third cousins (and your first cousins twice removed).  

Hope this helps and didn't just make it worse.  :)