aller guten Dinge sind drei
all good things come in threes; third time's the charm
Origin
The most common interpretation links the proverb to the Germanic/medieval legal assembly, the 'Thing/Ding': court was held three times a year and a defendant summoned three times. The general symbolic weight of the three is also cited; the precise origin remains somewhat uncertain.
Building blocks
Words in this expression
Grammar that uses this word
- Complex extended participial attributeKomplexes erweitertes Partizipialattribut
- Genitive preposition 'ungeachtet' (regardless of)Genitivpräposition 'ungeachtet'
- Inversion for emphasis and frontingInversion zur Emphase und Spitzenstellung
- Extraposition and the Nachfeld (post-field) as a stylistic deviceAusklammerung und Nachfeld als Stilmittel
- Verb 'haben' (to have), present: er/sie/es hat (he/she/it has)Verb 'haben' im Präsens: er/sie/es hat
- Simple past of 'haben': sie/Sie hatten (they/you had)Präteritum von 'haben': sie/Sie hatten
Examples
Zweimal habe ich , aber aller guten Dinge sind .
I've lost twice, but third time's the charm.