4 ms·
Several = few >= couple >= 2
by ww520 3y ago
Several = few >= couple >= 2
- bgoldste 3y agoThis is exactly how I use them.
- defrost 3y agoWhat's the upper bound on several? Ten, a hundred, a thousand?
- heresie-dabord 3y agoThe meaning of several, as reinforced by community usage, to me means "<=10". I may have several points to make, but I feel obliged to tell you specifically if I have 10 or a dozen or more to make so you can find a chair. ^_^ For >= 10, we have dozen, baker's dozen, score, and 20. This completes the set of conversational units of vague quantities.
- dylan604 3y agoWhat about a bunch?
- irrational 3y agoA bunch of grapes could have many dozens of grapes. Perhaps even a 100 or more.
- Izkata 3y agoThere's a cereal called "Honey Bunches of Oats". Maybe that word can veer off into non-numerical quantities.
- d1sxeyes 3y agoI think I expect all of those to be more or less accurate (for the >= 10 ones). If someone says a dozen, I would expect exactly 12 (especially if it’s something with very strong collocation like “eggs”). If someone says “a baker’s dozen” I would expect exactly 13. If someone says “score”, I’d be surprised, but given how infrequently it’s used, I’d expect the speaker to be using it accurately, not sloppily.
- bigDinosaur 3y agoNo upper bound since it also is often used as understatement.