Few and Less for the Same Thing!

Normally we say that you use “few” for things you count, and “less” for things you measure. See the last two panels.

The clue that he’s counting emissions is that he used the plural. Plural can mean you’re counting even if you’re not.

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The comic is funny because of the ambiguity, but if you’re not trying to be funny, don’t be ambiguous.

The solution in this case is to add labels. Tregg should have sent something like this:

People often confuse these two words. This guy gets it right.

I think I’m a nerd.

First, see the second panel:

It’s not /vick chu als/! I remember my high school English teacher saying it was pronounced /vittles/. Well, I just ran into the word, so I looked it up. Yup, it’s /vittles/!

I may as well add that the king didn’t need to say “old crone.” Crones are already old, so “crone” is sufficient.

Now I’m in the mood for ribs.

If you feel funny using the singular they (even though you may do so), see if you can rewrite the sentence! Take a look at the caption for this:

Change the sentence to

Pluggers don’t need to change into work clothes. They already have them on.

Simple, eh?