I don’t know what you’re talking about. “Once/twice/thrice removed” means “removed by one/two/three generations”, where “removed” has the sense of “separated”. “From what?” is the wrong question.
I'm annoyed I didn't know that. I read it as once separated, and got the overall message, but was part of the reason I found it so funny to read. Now that I've built that association, I guess it's simpler.
It's weird I'm a big talker and always reading things and never came across that in a way that I memorized it. I appreciate you explaining it to me.
