[Ads-l] once an accident, twice a coincidence...

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Excellent work, Ben.
Barry Popik has a webpage on this topic which mentions "Goldfinger"
and presents citations beginning on May 7, 1905.

“Once is happenstance; twice is coincidence; the third time it’s enemy action”
https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/once_is_happenstance_twice_is_coincidence_the_third_time_its_enemy_action

I have received two inquiries on this topic in 2020 and 2023.
Garson

On Tue, Oct 21, 2025 at 7:59 PM Ben Zimmer
<00001aae0710f4b7-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> A line in Ian Fleming's _Goldfinger_ (1959) is often quoted:
>
> "Mr. Bond, they have a saying in Chicago: 'Once is happenstance. Twice is
> coincidence. The third time it's enemy action.'"
>
> I don't know if that was ever a saying in Chicago, but here are some early
> variants:
>
> ---
> Saturday Evening Post, May 19, 1900, p. 1077, col. 3
> Edith Nesbit, "The Hermit of the Yews"
> Once might be accident; twice coincidence; three times is too much.
> https://archive.org/details/sim_saturday-evening-post_1900-05-19_172_47/page/1077/mode/1up
> ---
> Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov. 17, 1900, p. 8, col. 3
> "Bryan and a Third Nomination" (unsigned editorial)
> And so with Bryan. Once was an accident. Twice was a co-incident. But a
> third nomination would be a bad habit.
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-once-was-an-ac/183422807/
> also quoted with "coincidence" rather than "co-incident":
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-once-was-an-accident-tw/183423120/
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/joplin-news-herald-once-was-an-accident/183422711/
> ---
> Hartford Courant, Dec. 7, 1909, p. 14, col. 1
> The first time her husband fell out of the window was an accident; the
> second time it was a coincident and the third time it was a habit.
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/hartford-courant-first-time-was-an-accid/183436394/
> ---
> New Orleans Times-Picayune, Aug 18, 1912, p. 30
> A fire occurring once may be an accident, recurring at the same place is a
> coincidence, but when a fire starts a third time, it becomes a bad habit.
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-picayune-once-may-be-an-accide/183436624/
> ---
> West Yorkshire (UK) Pioneer, Aug. 13, 1915, p. 8, col. 2
> Once might be an accident, twice a coincidence, but three times was, he
> thought, something else.
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/west-yorkshire-pioneer-and-east-lancashi/183422441/
> ---
>
> --bgz
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org