Three’s a crowd.

Three is a tricycle painted blue and red with streamers from each hand grip. A tricycle, going around and around in swooping circles, with a delighted child on the seat. A tricycle is three times the fun.

Three for a Letter by Mary Reed and Eric Mayer. The books are delightful and I look forward to each one.

“Three, three, the rivals” Green Grow the Rushes-O. In literature and music and poetry throughout the centuries the story of the eternal triangle has been a dominant theme. Males have to be sure of their children’s genes; females need the protection of home and food to nurture their young. Any influence which is destructive of this arrangement is vilified. However, once the woman is too old to bear and rear children, she can be discarded for someone younger with no fear of criticism. High status males, as in all species, get first pick of the females.

“Omnia Gallia in partes tres divisa est….” All Gaul is divided into three parts. This is how Julius Caesar opens his Commentaries on the Conquest of Gaul, as I remember the words. I can recall being startled that the verb was at the end of the sentence, though I have since seen the words rearranged to reflect English word order.

“Three on a match” is supposed to bring bad luck, though Wikipedia says that it was invented by a Swedish match maker to sell more matches. In general, bad luck is supposed to come in threes. On the other hand, third time’s the charm.

A triangle is the sturdiest form available to carpentry. And pi is 3.14159... (close enough for government work).

There are three basic states of matter: solid, liquid, gas.

Holy Trinity. Three in One (or not). People have been slaughtered, burned at the stake and tortured for this creed, when words and interpretation affect not the reality (whatever it is) one whit.

Three Wise Men (and no wise women?).

Three in a musical trio, three voices in a round.

Three strikes and you’re out.

Three virtues: faith, hope and charity. The greatest of these is....