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Path: utzoo!utcs!mnetor!mot!al
From: al@mot.UUCP (Al Filipski)
Newsgroups: net.misc
Subject: Re: Re: Is English decaying rapidly? (less/fewer)
Message-ID: <433@mot.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 3-Nov-85 13:49:40 EST
Article-I.D.: mot.433
Posted: Sun Nov  3 13:49:40 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 3-Nov-85 22:23:53 EST
References: <1427@cae780.UUCP> <10600197@uiucdcs> <197@bnrmtv.UUCP> <1044@jhunix.UUCP> <185@opus.UUCP>
Organization: Motorola Microsystems, Tempe, AZ  85282
Lines: 19

>
> > >A recurring source of irritation to me is all the supermarket signs which
> > >say "x items or less" rather than "x items or FEWER".
> > 
> > That is shorthand for "X items or less than X items". It isn't a mistake.
> 
> AAARRRGGHHHHH.  We just found another one.
> 
> Yes, it IS a mistake.
> The difference between "less" and "fewer" is that "less" refers to a
> measure of a continuous quantity while "fewer" refers to a smaller number
> of discrete objects.
 
This seems like an overly pedantic and outmoded distinction.  Should we 
then also read "n < 5" as "n is fewer than 5" instead of "n is less than 5"?
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Alan Filipski,  UNIX group,  Motorola Microsystems, Tempe, AZ  U.S.A 85282
seismo!ut-sally!oakhill!mot!al, ihnp4!mot!al, ucbvax!arizona!asuvax!mot!al
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