A prile of "coming up threes".

[Harrison Hill]

For the third time - what does "coming
up threes" mean?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4v6aNjGFFk

[Peter Duncanson [BrE]]

According to this:
http://www.answers.com/Q/Where_does_the_phrase_coming_up_threes_come_from?#slide=2

It is generally accepted as referring to the fact that a three
rolled in most dice games is a losing roll; "keeps coming up threes"
is a run of bad luck

And this:
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130731084623AAdqoXm

Best Answer: According to sailing lore, a person who has fallen
overboard will resurface (come up) three times before succumbing and
actually drowning. In context, this makes the most sense of the wide
variety of other explanations, which include but aren't limited to:

1. Rolling a three in craps means that you crap out and lose

2. Shane's thick accent is obscuring the lyrics and it's actually
"trees" instead of "threes." "Coming up trees" being an idiomatic
equivalent to "pushing up daisies."

3. The belief that deaths come in threes.

--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)

[bill van]

In article <0hpotbdog4q3fif7r...@4ax.com>,

It's not universal. In Dutch, the applicable aphorism - Driemaal is
scheepsrecht -- is that the third time is the charm, i.e. after failing
on the first two tries to achieve the desired result, the third time is
lucky.
--
bill

[Don Phillipson]

> On Fri, 16 Sep 2016 14:23:18 -0700 (PDT), Harrison Hill
> <harrison...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>For the third time - what does "coming
>>up threes" mean?
>>
>>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4v6aNjGFFk

"Peter Duncanson [BrE]" <ma...@peterduncanson.net> wrote in message
news:0hpotbdog4q3fif7r...@4ax.com...

> According to this:
> http://www.answers.com/Q/Where_does_the_phrase_coming_up_threes_come_from?#slide=2
>
> It is generally accepted as referring to the fact that a three
> rolled in most dice games is a losing roll; "keeps coming up threes"
> is a run of bad luck
>
> And this:
> https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130731084623AAdqoXm
>
> Best Answer: According to sailing lore, a person who has fallen
> overboard will resurface (come up) three times before succumbing and
> actually drowning. In context, this makes the most sense of the wide
> variety of other explanations, which include but aren't limited to:
>
> 1. Rolling a three in craps means that you crap out and lose
>
> 2. Shane's thick accent is obscuring the lyrics and it's actually
> "trees" instead of "threes." "Coming up trees" being an idiomatic
> equivalent to "pushing up daisies."
>
> 3. The belief that deaths come in threes.

Most obviously, the www.answers.com solution omits soldiers'
observation that lighting three cigarettes from the same match
invites death. This may have originated in trench warfare in WW1.
The idea is that the first event alerts an enemy sniper, he aims at
the second glow and shoots when he sees the third.

But the idea that significant events occur in threes (deaths, big
waves at sea, etc.) quite probably antedates both this and the
rules of craps (dice) cf. the ancient Christian doctrine of the
Trinity (defined 325. I am currently reading Joseph Boyden's
book The Orenda which spends pages on a 17th century
Jesuit's attempts to explain the Trinity to aboriginal animists.)

No one has yet explained "prile."
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

[Peter T. Daniels]

On Saturday, September 17, 2016 at 10:26:21 AM UTC-4, Don Phillipson wrote:

> Most obviously, the www.answers.com solution omits soldiers'
> observation that lighting three cigarettes from the same match
> invites death. This may have originated in trench warfare in WW1.
> The idea is that the first event alerts an enemy sniper, he aims at
> the second glow and shoots when he sees the third.

There is only one glow, which in moving a foot or so from smoker to smoker,
remains visible long enough for the sniper to take aim.

[Harrison Hill]

You would only ever hear "prile" if you were playing the
English (gambling) card game "Brag".

[Tony Cooper]

That's not the way it was supposed to have worked. The sniper watched
to see where the two end points were and aimed at the middle between
those two. He didn't aim at a "glow"; he aimed between where two
glowing points were seen earlier. His chances of hitting the middle
person were very good.





--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

[Robert Bannister]

"Alle gute Dinge sind drei", "Third time lucky" are different variations
on the theme.

--
Robert B. born England a long time ago;
Western Australia since 1972

[Reinhold {Rey} Aman]

Robert Bannister wrote:
>
> "Alle gute Dinge sind drei"
>

"Aller guten Dinge sind drei."
^ ^
Zwei Fehler. Setzen!

--
~~~ Reinhold {Rey} Aman ~~~

[Don Phillipson]

> On Saturday, September 17, 2016 at 10:26:21 AM UTC-4, Don Phillipson
> wrote:
>
>> Most obviously, the www.answers.com solution omits soldiers'
>> observation that lighting three cigarettes from the same match
>> invites death. This may have originated in trench warfare in WW1.
>> The idea is that the first event alerts an enemy sniper, he aims at
>> the second glow and shoots when he sees the third.

"Peter T. Daniels" <gram...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:fa9e0a8f-d093-4e61...@googlegroups.com...

> There is only one glow, which in moving a foot or so from smoker to
> smoker,
> remains visible long enough for the sniper to take aim.

This appears doubtful. When a smoker sucks on a cigarette the
tip glows brightly. The three actions of lighting each cigarette
generate the three glows mentioned above.

[Charles Bishop]

In article <nrm1dp$2kh$1...@news.albasani.net>,

There is the "glow" of the match moving among the three smokers. It
stays lit long enough for a rifleman to follow it and take aim. If three
separate matches are used, then it is more difficult to know where they
will appear.

However, I wouldn't describe the flame of one match as a "glow".

--
charles

[Charles Bishop]

In article <asbrtbtm5ih4i6ep9...@4ax.com>,

I don't understand why the last man using the match would necessarily be
in between the other two.

More likely the use of one match gave the rifleman time to follow the
flame and fire. One match for each cigarette wouldn't give this
opportunity.

--
charles

[Tony Cooper]

On Sun, 18 Sep 2016 06:31:48 -0700, Charles Bishop
<ctbi...@earthlink.net> wrote:

>In article <asbrtbtm5ih4i6ep9...@4ax.com>,
> Tony Cooper <tonyco...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 17 Sep 2016 07:41:08 -0700 (PDT), "Peter T. Daniels"
>> <gram...@verizon.net> wrote:
>>
>> >On Saturday, September 17, 2016 at 10:26:21 AM UTC-4, Don Phillipson wrote:
>> >
>> >> Most obviously, the www.answers.com solution omits soldiers'
>> >> observation that lighting three cigarettes from the same match
>> >> invites death. This may have originated in trench warfare in WW1.
>> >> The idea is that the first event alerts an enemy sniper, he aims at
>> >> the second glow and shoots when he sees the third.
>> >
>> >There is only one glow, which in moving a foot or so from smoker to smoker,
>> >remains visible long enough for the sniper to take aim.
>>
>> That's not the way it was supposed to have worked. The sniper watched
>> to see where the two end points were and aimed at the middle between
>> those two. He didn't aim at a "glow"; he aimed between where two
>> glowing points were seen earlier. His chances of hitting the middle
>> person were very good.
>
>I don't understand why the last man using the match would necessarily be
>in between the other two.
>

That's not implied. The last man to use the match is the one who sets
the third point. All the sniper needs is three points because he is
going to aim at the space between the two end points. The last man to
use the match could be any of the three, but the end points would have
been set by his use.

>More likely the use of one match gave the rifleman time to follow the
>flame and fire. One match for each cigarette wouldn't give this
>opportunity.

The saying is about "Three on a match". One match. The three uses
would be separated be a very brief time because one match doesn't stay
lit that long. Matches would have been hoarded by combat soldiers who
smoked because there was no place to replenish the supply.

[Robert Bannister]

On 18/09/2016 8:37 AM, Reinhold {Rey} Aman wrote:
> Robert Bannister wrote:
>>
>> "Alle gute Dinge sind drei"
>>
> "Aller guten Dinge sind drei."
> ^ ^
> Zwei Fehler. Setzen!
>

Indeed. That is the second time you have corrected me on that. I'll
write it out a hundred times.

[Reinhold {Rey} Aman]

Robert Bannister wrote:
>
> Reinhold {Rey} Aman wrote:
>> Robert Bannister wrote:
>>>
>>> "Alle gute Dinge sind drei"
>>>
>> "Aller guten Dinge sind drei."
>> ^ ^
>> Zwei Fehler. Setzen!
>>
> Indeed. That is the second time you have corrected me on that.
> I'll write it out a hundred times.
>

Prima! :-)

[GordonD]

I understand it means "pair royal", i.e. three of a kind.
--
Gordon Davie
Edinburgh, Scotland

[dlma...@gmail.com]

Despite his accent, Shane is not singing anything unclear. I have seen this song performed numerous times, not just by Shane, but by other band members and it is definitely "coming up threes, boys, coming up threes". Also, Shane wrote the song and surely would have corrected his band members if they were saying the wrong thing.

[Peter Duncanson [BrE]]

I replied to Harrison Hill's question as soon as he asked it.

This what I wrote:
<quote>

According to this:
http://www.answers.com/Q/Where_does_the_phrase_coming_up_threes_come_from?#slide=2

It is generally accepted as referring to the fact that a three
rolled in most dice games is a losing roll; "keeps coming up threes"
is a run of bad luck

And this:
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130731084623AAdqoXm

Best Answer: According to sailing lore, a person who has fallen
overboard will resurface (come up) three times before succumbing and
actually drowning. In context, this makes the most sense of the wide
variety of other explanations, which include but aren't limited to:

1. Rolling a three in craps means that you crap out and lose

2. Shane's thick accent is obscuring the lyrics and it's actually
"trees" instead of "threes." "Coming up trees" being an idiomatic
equivalent to "pushing up daisies."

3. The belief that deaths come in threes.

<endquote>

There were answers and comments from other people. See here:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.usage.english/WiF9XDiOBao

[Peter T. Daniels]

On Thursday, January 10, 2019 at 10:40:57 AM UTC-5, PeterWD wrote:
> On Thu, 10 Jan 2019 00:28:34 -0800 (PST), dlma...@gmail.com wrote:
> >On Friday, September 16, 2016 at 4:23:26 PM UTC-5, Harrison Hill wrote:

> >> For the third time - what does "coming
> >> up threes" mean?
> >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4v6aNjGFFk
> >Despite his accent, Shane is not singing anything unclear. I have seen this song performed numerous times, not just by Shane, but by other band members and it is definitely "coming up threes, boys, coming up threes". Also, Shane wrote the song and surely would have corrected his band members if they were saying the wrong thing.
>
> I replied to Harrison Hill's question as soon as he asked it.
>
> This what I wrote:
> <quote>
> According to this:
> http://www.answers.com/Q/Where_does_the_phrase_coming_up_threes_come_from?#slide=2
>
> It is generally accepted as referring to the fact that a three
> rolled in most dice games is a losing roll; "keeps coming up threes"
> is a run of bad luck
>
> And this:
> https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130731084623AAdqoXm
>
> Best Answer: According to sailing lore, a person who has fallen
> overboard will resurface (come up) three times before succumbing and
> actually drowning. In context, this makes the most sense of the wide
> variety of other explanations, which include but aren't limited to:

But it's "He's gone down for the third time," which implies just two
prior submersions.

[harriso...@gmail.com]

We are just unclear about what "coming up threes" means. Since you are
revitalising an old Anglo-Irish thread (Sean MacGowan is as English as I
am; except I didn't go to an English public school):

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_MacGowan>

...sit back and enjoy some Anglo-Irish Galway poetry:

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh7PfBKOCqs>

[niib...@gmail.com]

Dude y'all wild. Its a reference to the trinity. F as ther , Son, Holy Ghost. He's dying. Really though. It's not that hard.