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A comment on 'Couple,' 'Few,' and 'Several': The (Mostly) Definitive Guide. Parent comment

Re:'Couple,' 'Few,' and 'Several': The (Mostly) Definitive G... by Spoom on Sunday October 01, 2023 @08:32AM (#37725314)
I'm Canadian and my wife is American, and we have absolutely the same disagreement. To me, a couple is exactly two, and to her, it's a synonym for "a few". We compromise by being explicit whenever that word is used.
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Re:'Couple,' 'Few,' and 'Several': The (Mostly) Definitive G... by bbarnett on Sunday October 01, 2023 @08:47AM (#37725420)
In primary school (grade 6), I was explicitly taught in grammar class that

* single = one

* couple = two

* few = three or four

* many = five or more

Both single and couple seem very well cemented to me, people say "he's single" or "they're a couple", and there is no confusion there.

But few and many were hammered into my head with equal certainty.

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