Fewer or Less?

This is one of my hobby horses, and maybe we’ll lose this battle, but still, I didn’t expect to find this mistake made by these folks, Axios. Does it jump out at you when you read this sentence?

Yes! Use “fewer” when you’re counting something, and “less” when you’re measuring, when you can have fractions. I don’t think they expect 3.9 Americans.

Harrumpf.

Use the search box on the right to find more examples of when and when not to use fewer or less.

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I have mentioned the common goof regarding “less” and “few.” Here’s the same problem, only with different words. Last panel:

So when you’re counting, use “number,” when you’re measuring use “amount.”

Remember—when you’re counting, use “fewer.” When you’re measuring, use “less.” She used the wrong word.

Their definition of “shrinkflation” is okay, though. Same price, less product.

Here’s the picture:

“The Nib” is a politics- and current events-based site.

Remember: Use “fewer” when you’re counting, and “less” when you’re measuring.

Occasionally I see a comic that has a grocery store checkout that says “fewer.” Here’s another one. The digression is below the comic.

Okay, digression. This is about the likelihood of picking the fastest line and why we always seem to not pick it. The reason is that line speeds are actually random, and when we pick a line, we compare where we are to the line on each side. That makes the odds of picking the fastest line three to one. So sometimes we do pick the fastest line, but only one out of three times feels worse than it is. I read this in an article in Scientific American, so it must be true.