rule of three (English, name)
expansion: the rule of three
Senses:
topics: education
mathematics
sciences
glosses: A rule stating that, if two ratios are equal, then the denominator of the second equals its numerator times the reciprocal of the first ratio: if a/b=c/d then d=(bc)/a.
topics: medicine
sciences
glosses: A rule for clinical trials used for determining the rate of adverse side effects when no such side effects present during the course of the trial.
topics: comedy
communications
entertainment
journalism
lifestyle
literature
media
publishing
writing
glosses: A rule which states that things which come in groups of three are inherently funnier or more effective than things which come in groups of other sizes.
tags: rhetoric
topics: comedy
communications
entertainment
journalism
lifestyle
literature
media
publishing
writing
glosses: A rule which states that things which come in groups of three are inherently funnier or more effective than things which come in groups of other sizes.
Specifically, the technique of having a setup in advance, a reminder to keep it fresh in the audience's memory, and then a payoff.
tags: rhetoric
topics: Wicca
lifestyle
religion
glosses: A religious tenet stating that the energy a person puts out into the world, positive or negative, will be returned to that person threefold.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
programming
sciences
glosses: A rule of thumb in the C++ programming language, stating that any class that defines a destructor, a copy constructor, or a copy assignment operator should define all three of them.
Forms:
form: the rule of three
tags: canonical
form: the Rule of Three
tags: alternative