Jonathan Dodd‘s latest column. Guest opinion articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the publication. Ed
First there was a mountain, then there was no mountain, then there was.
The first of men.
The first time ever I saw your face.
The First Minister.
When something goes wrong, I’m the first to admit it, the first to admit it, the last one to know.
The first day of the rest of your life.
The first cut is the deepest.
The first time.
The first cut won’t hurt at all. The second only makes you wonder. The third will leave you on your knees.
Newton’s First Law of Motion.
First Night.
First aid.
First past the post.
First steps.
All I know is that first you’ve got to get mad.
The first rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club.
The firstborn.
So the last will be first, and the first will be last.
Second
The second rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club.
I’ll be there in a second!
Second place.
The Second Coming.
Second marriages.
A second chance.
The unit of time, the second, was defined originally as the fraction 1/86 400 of the mean solar day.
A second language
A second opinion.
Seconds out! Round One!
A second home.
In a typical duel, each party acted through a second.
William the Second. Edward the Second. Charles the Second. George the Second. James the Second.
Second time around.
The second chamber.
Second-hand.
A second hand.
Third
Third person singular.
Third person plural.
A third of the takings.
The third world.
The third sector.
The Third Man.
Unlucky third light.
Third Prize.
The Third World War.
Charlie Chaplin once came third in a Charlie Chaplin Lookalike Contest.
Third Wave Feminism.
Third row forwards.
The third eye.
The third degree.
Third planet from the sun.
Third level education.
Third in line to the throne.
Fourth
The fourth estate.
Fourth Gear.
The fourth element.
The fourth protocol.
The fourth arrondissement.
The fourth dimension.
The Fourth of July.
Henry the Fourth.
Is there a Fourth Firth of Forth crossing? (Sorry, couldn’t help that).
Fifth
Remember, remember, the Fifth of November.
A fifth of vodka.
Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
Beethoven’s Fifth.
The woman in the fifth.
The Fifth Element.
The Fifth Estate.
Fifth Avenue.
The Fifth Amendment.
The fifth book of the Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy.
And so on
The Sixth Sense.
The seventh son of a seventh son.
The seventh day.
The Seventh Cavalry.
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me – seven swans a-swimming.
The seventh wave.
In Seventh Heaven.
The Seventh seal.
The Eighth Day.
The Eighth wonder.
The twelfth of never.
Twelfth Night.
One hundredth of a second.
The millionth customer.
The nine billionth name of God.
As the numbers get bigger (or smaller), the quotes get thinner.
If you have been, thank you for reading this. You may be the first and/or last one.
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