Thread. To spin a good thread, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To succeed.
To thread the needle, verb.
phr. (venery).—To possess a
woman: see Ride.
Thread-and-thrum, subs. phr.
(old).—Everything; all: even to
the fringe of threads left on the
loom when the web has been
removed.
1592. Shakspeare, Mid. Night's Dream, v. 1. 291. O Fates, come, come; Cut thread and thrum.
Threadneedle St. See Old
Lady.
Thread-paper. See Hop-pole.
Three. One (or two's) company—three's
none! phr. (colloquial).—A
suggestion to a second
or third party that 'their room
is preferred before their company.'
1430. Babees Book [E. E. T. S.], 307. Be not the thryd felaw for wele ne wo; Thre oxen in plowgh may never wel drawe.
Cube of Three, subs. phr.
(old).—See quot.
1705-6. Hearne, Jan. 30 [Reliquiæ, i. 93]. The great health now is, The Cube of Three, which is the number 27, i.e., the number of the protesting lords.
Three times three! phr.
(colloquial).—Three cheers,
thrice repeated.
1850. Tennyson, In Memoriam, Concl. Again the feast, the speech, the glee. . . . The crowning cup, the three times three.
1857. Hughes, Tom Brown's Schooldays, i. 6. I must give you a toast to be drunk with three times three and all the honours.
To play three to one, verb. phr. (venery).—To copulate: see Ride. Also to play three to one and sure to lose (Grose).
[?]. Old Song. 'As I cam o'er the Cairney Mount' [Burns, Merry Muses (c. 1800), 45]. A famous battle then began, Wi' equal courage and desire, Altho' he struck me three to one.
See Sheet.
Three Balls. The sign of the
three balls (brass, golden or
blue balls), phr. (old).—A
pawnbroker's: see Uncle.
1748. Smollett, Roderick Random, xvi. He at length unbuckled his hanger, and, showing me the sign of the three blue balls, desired me to carry it thither and pawn it for two guineas.
c. 1845. Hood, Pawning Watch, ix. I've gone to a dance for my supper; And now must go to three balls!
1861. Sala, Twice Round Clock, 180. The brethren of the three golden balls.
1880. Sims, Three Brass Balls [Title].
Three-by-nine Smile, subs. phr.
(American).—A broad laugh (? a
pun on 'benign').
Three-cornered Scraper, subs.
phr. (old).—A cocked hat.
Three-decker, subs. (orig.
nautical: now general).—1. A
man-of-war carrying guns on three
decks: whence (2) a piece of
furniture, pulpit, etc., in three
tiers (in a pulpit the clerk's place
was at the bottom, the reading-desk
on the second stage, and the
pulpit highest of all); (3) a three-volume
novel, or three-act play;
and (4) a coat having three capes
round the shoulders.
1814. Austen, Mansfield Park, xli. Before the gentlemen . . . could . . . settle the number of three-deckers now in commission, their companions were ready to proceed.
1855. Tennyson, Maud, ii. ii. 4. Cataract seas that snap The three-decker's open spine.
