Yay! A Correct “Fewer”

Another of my hobby horses. This grocery store gets it right. Fewer, not less.

What does your grocery store say???

(FYI, my grocery store says “about 15 items.”)

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Remember:

• When you’re counting, use “fewer.”
• When you’re measuring, use “less.”

Unlike this writer (or editor; I’m not sure whom to blame).

After her death, she was exhumed no less than three times and found to be perfectly intact at each, which makes it seem strange that the lovely face and hands that are so famous are actually made of wax.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/not-quite-incorruptible-st-bernadette-lourdes

Do a search for less or fewer in the upper right corner to find semi-exceptions to this rule.

Here’s a picture:

When we compare things that we count, we say “fewer” and “number,” and when we measure them, we use “less” and “amount.” But what if the things are countable but you can’t count them?

Technically, potato chips are countable, so “number” would be appropriate.

But you’re not going to open the bag and count the chips, so maybe you can get away with using “amount.” But curmudgeon that I am, I’d be inclined to say “number of chips.”

What do you think?

The rule is to use “fewer” when you’re counting something and “less” when you’re measuring something. But two things can go either way: time and distance. Usually we use “less” for both, but you can use “fewer” even though it sounds a bit funny.

The moon will be new fewer than 9 hours after the June 20 solstice.

https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/annular-solar-eclipse-on-june-21-2020

Of course we gotta have a picture. Here’s one from 2013:

But the sentence made it into this post because it contains a common, small error. Do you see it?

Nonetheless, it’s an interesting sentence. And an interesting article.

In a Weatherwise article on Humboldt, Stephen Vermette noted that Alexander took with him no less than 42 instruments ranging from “navigation and surveying to a microscope to observe small detail and to identify species, and instruments to measure magnetism”. His cache included two mercurial barometers, several thermometers, a rain gauge, two hygrometers to measure humidity, a cyanometer to measure the blue color of the sky, a hypsometer which determines the temperature at which water boils at different altitudes and a eudiometer to measure the volume of gases.

https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/alexander-von-humboldt-scientist-extraordinaire

Okay, it’s two sentences. Gotta get them both for the vocabulary lesson. And you saw the goof, right? If you didn’t, look up “fewer” and “less” in the search box.

Oh yes; a picture from the article:

I just ran into a sentence with a similar error: He should have used “number” instead of “amount.” He’s counting, not measuring.

 After a wayward bee inspired a yearslong obsession, he painted a mural in Florida and made it his goal to paint 50,000 bees: the amount of insects that make up a healthy, thriving hive.