Fiberbabe offers: I've always used the term "second-world" to reference countries that are trying to dig their way out of a potentially third-world crisis situation

Interesting potential here for meaning shift due to changing circumstances. The term third world is pretty well entrenched in its meaning. The main portion of the old second world has evaporated and what remains is seemingly converting but we can't very well refer to a first world and a third world without having a second world we have to do something with the term. Have you always used the term this way, Fiberbabe?