three score and ten
Seventy, being the number of years in a full lifetime of traditionally-expected duration.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He lived to be three score and ten.”
“Most people hope to reach at least three score and ten.”
“My grandfather celebrated his birthday with a large party, having reached the age of three score and ten.”
“Modern medicine helps many people live much longer than the three score and ten years mentioned in ancient texts.”
“The retired professor spent his three score and ten years building a massive library that he eventually donated to the local university.”
“Reflecting on his long life, the author noted that he had surpassed the traditional span of three score and ten years.”
The phrase comes from Psalm 90:10 in the King James Bible: "The days of our years are threescore years and ten." A score is twenty, so threescore and ten is seventy — the span the psalm gives as a typical human lifetime.
The wording stuck as a traditional way of naming the age of seventy, and by extension the length of an ordinary life. It now sounds deliberately old-fashioned or literary, used more for its biblical flavour than as a plain statement of number.
- 01
a hundred and ten percent
A level of effort beyond what one can usually sustain; great exertion.
- 02
card of ten
A bold front, an instance of standing one's ground.
- 03
cock and Hen
[Cockney slang]ten
- 04
count to ten
An expression used to describe or recommend a process for pausing to regain one's composure when one is on the verge of losing one's temper.
- 05
count to three
Synonym of count to ten.
- 06
even the score
To seek or obtain revenge against someone.
- 07
five will get you ten
I strongly believe.
- 08
four score and seven years ago
Used (sometimes sarcastically) to indicate that a past event being mentioned is particularly important: a long time ago; many years ago.
Job, Psalms, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes on how to live.
- 01
nothing new under the sun (idiom)
Human affairs endlessly repeat; what seems novel has all happened before.
- 02
the patience of Job (idiom)
Extraordinary endurance and calm in the face of prolonged suffering.
- 03
by the skin of your teeth (idiom)
Just barely
- 04
pride comes before a fall (idiom)
Arrogance and overconfidence tend to precede a downfall.
- 05
a fly in the ointment (idiom)
A small flaw or problem that spoils something otherwise good.
- 06
my cup runneth over (idiom)
A feeling of having blessings or good fortune in overwhelming abundance.
Last updated August 10, 2026