How many is that again?

– Time For A Tiara: Column by Ginna Young –

A subject came up the other day, when I was going over things that had to go in the paper for an upcoming issue. I said I had a few things on my list of “must go in.” So, two?

No, not two, I said a few. That brought on a whole discussion about, how many are a few? Well, Tegan says this.......

A 13 year old couldn’t know more than I do about this, could he? Let’s explore that.

See, I’ve always thought – because this is how I grew up – that a few meant three or slightly more. A couple means two. A handful means five to six. A bunch is anywhere from seven to 10, and then you’re into a dozen (12).

Then, of course, there’s a baker’s dozen, which is 13. After that, well, you really do just go by numbers. If you mean 15, you say 15, until you reach the next dozen and so forth.

But, apparently, I’ve been wrong all this time. According to dictionary.com, “A couple most strictly means two, but it’s often used casually to mean much the same thing as a few, which commonly means around two, three or four – it can be relative to the situation and the size of the numbers under discussion. For example, you might say only a few people came, when it was 12, but 50 were invited. Several most commonly means more than two, but fewer than many. Depending on the context, the meanings of couple, few and several, can overlap.”

Like I said, my whole life is wrong. I guess just because that’s how I was taught, I thought that everyone else was the same way in their measurements. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not changing how I use a couple and a few. A couple means two and a few means three, and that’s what I’m sticking with.

But, it is going to make me pay closer attention when someone else says those measurements and push a little harder for actual numbers. I’ll also try to be clearer when I throw out a few, so people have an accurate number.

It pains me that a teenager knew this and I didn’t, and if his stepmom hadn’t told me that’s how he perceived the measurements, I’d still be in the dark. So, Tegan, you’re way smarter than I am, in a couple ways!