the three Rs
The three tenets of education traditionally considered the most basic or essential: reading, writing, and arithmetic. (So named for the prominent "R" sound at the beginning of each word.) When a school begins seeing major performance issues across the three Rs, then it is time to revise its curriculum and teaching style.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
three R's
The fundamentals of education, as in It's a terrible school; the children are not even taught the three R's. It is widely believed that Sir William Curtis, an alderman who became Lord Mayor of London, once presented a toast to the three R's-reading, riting, and rithmetic-thereby betraying his illiteracy. In any event, the term was picked up by others and so used from the early 1800s on.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
the three ˈR’s
(old-fashioned) reading, writing and arithmetic as the basic school subjectsWhen you say these three subjects, they all have the sound /r/ at or near the beginning of the word.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017