Word Request – ‘Once, Twice, Thrice’ and What Comes Next?

word-request

How would you complete the following sequence, until point 10?

  1. Once
  2. Twice
  3. Thrice
  4. (…)

Any help would be appreciated.

Best Answer

As others have stated in the comments, you would continue like this:

  1. Once
  2. Twice / a couple of times
  3. Thrice / Three times
  4. Four times
  5. Five times
  6. Six times
  7. Seven times
  8. Eight times
  9. Nine times
  10. Ten times

Note: "a couple" doesn't always mean exactly two, although it often does.

As mentioned by Mick in the comments, thrice is quite old fashioned and while most people in the UK would understand, it's not commonly used.

You might also reference the fact that 12 is also known as a dozen (and therefore 6 is half a dozen):

  • 6 times = Half a dozen times (or "a half dozen times" in the US sometimes)
  • 12 times = A dozen times

There are also some other ways to reference numbers of "things" which don't really apply or work in the "times" example (some of which are a little archaic and more likely to be seen in literature or poetry than in everyday conversational speech/writing):

  • 2 ants -> a pair/duo of ants
  • 3 mice -> a trio/trinity of mice
  • 4 cats -> a quartet of cats
  • 5 dogs -> a quintet of dogs
  • 20 birds -> a score of birds
  • 144 eggs -> a gross of eggs (more often called 12 dozen eggs)

In the UK, we also have some slang for certain amounts of money:

  • £5 = a fiver
  • £10 = a tenner
  • £20 = a score (like above)
  • £25 = a pony
  • £500 = a monkey
  • £1000 = a grand (also used in the US)

There are a load more which originated in cockney rhyming slang, but those above are the most common.

Anyway, I've gone quite a bit off-topic there, but hopefully answered your question and gave you a little additional insight as well.

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