bad things come in threes
- bad things come in threes
Bad things may be specified as
accidents, deaths, or other mishaps;
cf. misfortunes never come singly. This is a well-attested folk superstition on both sides of the Atlantic:
1891 Notes & Queries 7th
ser. XII. 489 One of my servants having accidentally broken a glass shade, asked for two other articles of little value, a wine bottle and jam crock, that she might break them, and so prevent the two other accidents... which would otherwise follow.
Cf. third time lucky.
1997 D. HANSEN Sole Survivor xvi. 82 He was a superstitious man and believed that bad joss always struck in threes.
2002 Times 20 Mar. 22 They say bad things come in threes. I don’t know who the they are that say this, mind, or how they found out that that was how bad things came,..but..last weekend, they were spot on.
Proverbs new dictionary.
Look at other dictionaries:
bad — see a bad excuse is better than none bad money drives out good bad news travels fast a bad penny always turns up bad things come in threes there is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes … Proverbs new dictionary
come — come1 [ kʌm ] (past tense came [ keım ] ; past participle come) verb *** ▸ 1 move/travel (to here) ▸ 2 reach particular state ▸ 3 start doing something ▸ 4 reach particular point ▸ 5 be received ▸ 6 happen ▸ 7 exist or be produced ▸ 8 be… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
come — I UK [kʌm] / US verb Word forms come : present tense I/you/we/they come he/she/it comes present participle coming past tense came UK [keɪm] / US past participle come *** 1) [intransitive] to move or travel to the place where you are come… … English dictionary
Threes (Enneagram of Personality) — Threes are a personality type of the Enneagram of Personality.General characteristicsWhen Threes are healthy they will strive to develop themselves in order tobecome the best they can be and are often well liked and successful in whatever field… … Wikipedia
come — 1 /kVm/ verb past tense came past participle come MOVE 1 (I) a word meaning to move towards someone, or to visit or arrive at a place, used when the person speaking or the person listening is in that place: Come a little closer. | Sarah s coming… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs, Thematic Index — absence absence makes the heart grow fonder he who is absent is always in the wrong the best of friends must part blue are the hills that are far away distance lends enchantment to the view out of sight, out of mind … Proverbs new dictionary
thing — see if a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well all good things must come to an end all things are possible with God all things come to those who wait bad things come in threes the best things come in small packages … Proverbs new dictionary
three, third — By far the most widespread of the traditionally significant *numbers. It is a commonplace in folktales that persons and events are triplicated, the third of the set being often weighted (the third brother the best, the third ogre the fiercest … A Dictionary of English folklore
three — see three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead three removals are as bad as a fire three things are not to be trusted: a cow’s horn, a dog’s tooth, and a horse’s hoof bad things come in threes two boys are half a boy, and three boys are no… … Proverbs new dictionary
Wicked (Barb Jungr and Michael Parker) — Infobox Album | Name = Wicked Type = Album Artist = Barb Jungr Michael Parker Released = 1986 Recorded = RMS Studios, Croydon, England Genre = Chanson Length = No Track Times Given Label = ? Producer = Barb Jungr, Andy Levien, Michael Parker… … Wikipedia
