Threefer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A promotional offer where one pays for two items but receives three
2. A deal that allows the purchase of one item while obtaining an additional item for free
3. An arrangement in which three items are obtained for the price of two, often used in marketing strategies

Etymology: "Threefer" is a clipping of "three-for-one" or "three-in-one," and it was built on the model of "twofer," the older American term for a deal in which you get two of something for the price of one. The pattern is simple: "two" becomes "three," and the "-er" ending that marks a thing or event that yields a bundle is kept. The word is most often used for the retail trick it describes, but the same shape appears in other settings, such as a single performance or event that serves three purposes at once. A threefer is typically a bargain, a combined offer, or a dual-purpose gain of some kind, and the word's core sense has stayed fixed: one transaction, three things received.