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How many is "a few"?
3

How many is "a few"?

How many is "a few"?

(OP)
Hi,

I have had this argument with my friends a number of times. Some of them them insist 'a few' is three, in the same sense that 'a couple' is two. I think 'a few' can be any number over 1 that is relatively small. Billions can still be 'a few', e.g. 'a few stars are white dwarfs'

Thoughts?

Tom

RE: How many is "a few"?

yeah, the definition of "a few" depends on what constitutes "many."  "A few people" might be 5 or 10.
 

RE: How many is "a few"?

I think somewhere between "a few" and "many" would be "several", but it's a big fuzzy gray area. As ivymike pointed out, it depends on the context.

A lot of people use "a couple" to describe more than two items  as well. I do it from time to time, much to some people's chagrin.

(I'm reminded of Australian-Italian comedian Joe Avati, who has a sketch about his nonna (grandmother) who sends him  to the shed in the yard to get "due patate", literally translated "two potatoes", and then gets angry when he only brings two, and explains that in Italian, two means eight or nine... Anyone brought up by Italians (like me) is usually in stitches when they hear this...)

RE: How many is "a few"?

I've always used "a couple" to mean 2.

"A few" I use to mean 3 or more.

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

RE: How many is "a few"?

I'm in the same camp as MadMango.  I use a couple for two and a few for three or more.

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

RE: How many is "a few"?

same here as MadMango. But when I refer to 5 or more I say several.

Chris
Sr. Mechanical Designer, CAD
SolidWorks 05 SP3.1 / PDMWorks 05
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716

RE: How many is "a few"?

A few is 2 or more.

A couple is 2 (think of a married couple).

Just be specific. Why give people the opportunity to misunderstand you? They're bound to do it a few times a day at least. :)

RE: How many is "a few"?

A couple is 2 but is often used informally to mean "2 or 3".

This is the first time I've ever heard of "few" meaning "exactly three".

Hg

Eng-Tips guidelines:  FAQ731-376

RE: How many is "a few"?

MechCT, when my wife asks me how much money I have in my wallet I reply, "A few bucks."  Upon hearing this, she usually hands me an extra $20 or $40.  Now if I were to be specific and tell I had $35, I'd loose my fun-funding.  Technically I did not lie.

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

RE: How many is "a few"?

==> This is the first time I've ever heard of "few" meaning "exactly three".
I don't see where anyone has claimed that 'few' means 'exactly three', but rather, 'at least three'.

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

RE: How many is "a few"?

Look at the first post.  The friend claimed it means three, the poster claims it means any relatively small number.

I suppose it could be interepreted to be an argument over whether "few" can be "two", but the mention of billions of stars rather supports my interpretation.

Hg

Eng-Tips guidelines:  FAQ731-376

RE: How many is "a few"?

Also "a few" could equal One, as in
"He had a few too many beers"

"If A equals success, then the formula is: A = X + Y + Z, X is work. Y is play. Z is keep your mouth shut."
-- by Albert Einstein

RE: How many is "a few"?

ah, but rare is the occasion when a person stops drinking at only 1 too many!

RE: How many is "a few"?

The word is intentionally ambiguous.  To assume it is equivalent to a precise number would be unwise.

On the same note, if someone tells me a precise number, I am going to double check it a few times before I proceed.  I just like to be certain! ;)

Thanks
SC

RE: How many is "a few"?

MadMango... I see your point. And of course, in that situation it's better to be nebulous. I was just thinking about how this discussion could be applied to conversations in the field of engineering. In any case, thanks for opening my eyes to other, admittedly humorous, situations where not being specific is a good thing.

Sprintcar... I don't think when someone says, "...a few too many beers" they mean only one more. And it may be technically incorrect to use it that way. They might say instead, "...one too many beers." A few is definetly more than one. I believe it's anything more than a couple (2) but less than 100. When a few is used with numbers above 100, it's typically phrased like a few hundred, a few thousand, or a few billion or whatever. No one ever says a few 10's though. If the number is below one, there again it's usually phrased as a something like a few thousanths, a few hundred-thousanths, a few tenths, etc...

Of course, these are just my own observations. Unless there's some standards from the International Talking to Your Neighbor Association (ITYNA), than I think it's up to the individual to decide.

RE: How many is "a few"?

FEW:  (adj.) More than one, but not as many as usual or as expected.


COUPLE (plural couples):

*Two partners in a romantic or sexual relationship.
Joe and Amy make a nice couple.

*Two of the same kind connected or considered together (see Usage notes).
They look like a couple of idiots!

*A small number of (see Usage notes).
Let me have a couple of slices of pepperoni.

*One of the pairs of plates of two metals which compose a voltaic battery, called a voltaic couple or galvanic couple.

*(physics) Two rotations, movements, etc., that are equal in amount but opposite in direction, and acting along parallel lines or around parallel axes.
[edit]

*Usage notes
In UK usage, couple is followed by of when used to mean "two" or "a small number of", as in "a couple of people". In US usage, of is often omitted, as in "I went there a couple times".

(Courtesy of Wiktionary.org)

"Happiness is as a butterfly which when pursued is always beyond our grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly may alight upon you."  -Nathaniel Hawthorne

RE: How many is "a few"?

There seem to be quite a few people who agree that "a few" is three or more and just a few that consider it to be exactly three.  

Being a former member of "The few.  The Proud."  I will cast my vote for three or more.

Barry1961

RE: How many is "a few"?

I always thought a few meant exactly '3' as well.

Steamguy2
www.SteamPlantEngineering.com - Discussion & resources for professionals in the Power Generation Industry

RE: How many is "a few"?

For those who belive few = exactly 3:

Do you believe that fewer = some number - 3?

RE: How many is "a few"?

Come on guys... y'all sound like the computer that tries to determine whether somebody is bald... 1000 hairs is hairy, 999 hairs is bald??

There's no number associated with "a few". A few is... a few! No need to count. That's why it's such a clever word. Otherwise we might as well just say "3" or "4".

RE: How many is "a few"?

I have read the word "few" here so many times that has lost any meaning and doesn't even look like a word.

RE: How many is "a few"?

Dictionary definitions:-
FEW - not many, less than several.
SEVERAL - more than two, but not many.

and from the "Inconcise Suffolk Dictionary" (anyone out there who knows Suffolk, or other parts of the east of England will understand this)

FEW - not many; but a fair few is quite a number; thats more than a few , but not as much as PART A FAIR FEW. A PART A FAIR FEW is more than A FAIR FEW, althought it's only a part of, and is less than THE BEST PART A FAIR FEW. THE BEST PART A FAIR FEW is more than PART A FAIR FEW, and is a term for a large number. An exact number can't be put to a FEW, FAIR FEW, PART A FAIR FEW, or BEST PART A FAIR FEW,as it depends on the items being discussed or referred to.

EXAMPLE

14 matches in a box is a FEW
14 cigarettes in session at the pub would be a FAIR EW
14 miles cycled from one country pub to another would be PART OF A FAIR FEW
14 pint sunk in one session at the pub would be BEST PART OF A FAIr FEW

I hope that this now makes as much sense for you as it did for me.

RE: How many is "a few"?

Like Bruv I also come from the UK but from Leicestershire where we have a quantity called 'umpteen'which I have always assumed to be a fair few more than a few and probably a few more than several but almost certainly less than a lot.
Must get to Suffolk one day and see if I can get a copy of Bruv's dictionary in the local WHS.

RE: How many is "a few"?

MintJulep, Good one!

Few!..glad that conversation is over.  HAH!

Andy

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