There has been some question recently as to whether the far‐wake structure of a bluff body is dependent on, or ‘‘connected’’ with, the precise details of the near‐wake structure. Indeed, it has previously been assumed that there is no direct connection in scale or frequency. In the present work, observations are shown of a honeycomb‐like 3‐D pattern in the far wake, which is caused by an interaction between the decaying oblique shedding waves from upstream and large‐scale 2‐D waves in the far wake. A clear ‘‘connection’’ between the 3‐D scales of the near and far wakes is thereby demonstrated. The symmetry and spanwise wavelength of Cimbalaetal.’s [J. Fluid Mech.190, 265 (1988)] 3‐D pattern are precisely consistent with such wave interactions. In the presence of parallel shedding, the lack of a honeycomb pattern shows that the pattern is clearly dependent on oblique vortex shedding. It also follows that for oblique shedding, the far‐wake 2‐D waves cannot possibly be the result of vortex pairing.