My 'source' was merely hearsay :) It seems there's a wikipedia article on the dispute: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fewer_vs._less http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

My 'source' was merely hearsay :) It seems there's a wikipedia article on the dispute: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fewer_vs._less http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fewer_vs._less Which mentions the 'rule' started to get pushed around in the 1800s, though 'Less has always been used in English with counting nouns.' I suppose we'll always be stuck with this ambiguity in English since there's no formal authority to tell us how we should speak/write. From my own observations, having grown up in Australia and since moved to the US, I must say the common practice is notably different, I almost never heard anyone say fewer in Australia, but have noticed that many Americans (like the poster here) seem to be on a crusade to ensure less isn't 'misused'.