triple threat
an expert in three different fields or in three different skills in the same field.
Football. a back who is proficient at running, passing, and punting: The triple threat is a rare find for coaches.
Origin of triple threat
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use triple threat in a sentence
In other words, what happened to the much-vaunted triple threat?
Natalie Portman, Black Swan, and the Death of the ‘Triple Threat’ | Tricia Romano | March 30, 2011 | THE DAILY BEASTBut the biggest reason the triple threat has disappeared is because their main vehicle—the musical—has also faltered.
Natalie Portman, Black Swan, and the Death of the ‘Triple Threat’ | Tricia Romano | March 30, 2011 | THE DAILY BEASTHugh Jackman, Neil Patrick Harris, Amy Adams, Anne Hathaway, the cast of Glee—even J-Lo—fall into the category of triple threat.
Natalie Portman, Black Swan, and the Death of the ‘Triple Threat’ | Tricia Romano | March 30, 2011 | THE DAILY BEASTSince the golden era, cultural shifts have allowed the triple threat to disappear.
Natalie Portman, Black Swan, and the Death of the ‘Triple Threat’ | Tricia Romano | March 30, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
Other Idioms and Phrases with triple threat
A person who is adept in three areas, as in She's a triple threat on the editorial staff—she can edit, write, and design pages. This term comes from football, where it signifies a player who is good at running, passing, and kicking. [c. 1920] Also see hat trick.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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