What does みつどもえの泡 mean?


In the lyrics of [三十路岬](https://www.utamap.com/showkasi.php?surl=B25323),

> みつどもえの泡と知りもせず
>
> 愛した罪は消えないの
>
> 誰を選ぶか決められないと 別れ上手なひとでした

There is this occurrence of みつどもえの泡, which I couldn't find a dictionary
translation of. The first line seems to translate to

> Without even knowing みつどもえの泡

(which is kind of ironic, since I don't know what みつどもえの泡 means...)

I do know what みつどもえ (三つ巴) means. It's this pattern:

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/MJeVKm.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/MJeVKm.png)

But what does bubbles (泡) have to do with it?




三つ巴 originally refers to that emblem you found, but in modern Japanese it
mainly means "triad", "three-way" or "threesome" (e.g., 三つ巴の戦い = three-way
battle). In this context 三つ巴 refers to the "love triangle", which is suggested
by lines like 誰を選ぶか決められない. In this song, she is regretting that she was
involved in cheating without even knowing it.

泡 ("bubble/foam") has long been a common metaphor for ephemeral/transient
things in Japanese.
[うたかた](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/%E6%B3%A1%E6%B2%AB_%28%E3%81%86%E3%81%9F%E3%81%8B%E3%81%9F%29/)
is a more poetic equivalent. Many people have compared bubbles to love, dream,
[economy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_asset_price_bubble) or even
our world itself. In this context it is used primarily as a metaphor for
ephemeral love, but of course it's also a reference to the sea bubbles she is
actually seeing.

Therefore 三つ巴の泡と知りもせず愛した roughly means "I loved you without knowing this was a
love triangle".




三つ巴 originally refers to that emblem you found, but in modern Japanese it
mainly means "triad", "three-way" or "threesome" (e.g., 三つ巴の戦い = three-way
battle). In this context 三つ巴 refers to the "love triangle", which is suggested
by lines like 誰を選ぶか決められない. In this song, she is regretting that she was
involved in cheating without even knowing it.

泡 ("bubble/foam") has long been a common metaphor for ephemeral/transient
things in Japanese.
[うたかた](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/%E6%B3%A1%E6%B2%AB_%28%E3%81%86%E3%81%9F%E3%81%8B%E3%81%9F%29/)
is a more poetic equivalent. Many people have compared bubbles to love, dream,
[economy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_asset_price_bubble) or even
our world itself. In this context it is used primarily as a metaphor for
ephemeral love, but of course it's also a reference to the sea bubbles she is
actually seeing.

Therefore 三つ巴の泡と知りもせず愛した roughly means "I loved you without knowing this was a
love triangle".

