Second rate, third rate, and naval language

Did third-rate ships give rise to "third time's the charm," and why did "second-rate" become a common negative expression?

Probably not. The survival of "second-rate" as an insult while "third-rate" is rarely used that way may be a linguistic legacy of the old naval rating system.

A listener asks whether third-rate ships supplied the phrase "third time's the charm." The answer is probably no, but the question exposes an odd linguistic inheritance from the sailing navy. Modern English commonly treats "second-rate" as inferior, even though a second-rate ship of the line was a powerful warship. "Third-rate" did not become an even harsher everyday judgment in the same way. Naval classification terms can outlive the institutions that gave them their original meaning.