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Redfox · 07-29-2010, 05:06 PM

I hate it when supermarkets hang signs over the express checkout saying "10 items or less". It's fewer, OK!!! Less is used with mass nouns (water, gold, space), fewer with count nouns (pigs, watermelons, nuclear reactors) and numbers.

OTOH folk etymology and spelling is sometimes funny. When I lived in South London, I saw a greengrocer's sign giving the price for 'Brockley' (a borough a few miles away)

I have no problem with usage changing over the years - 'nice' and 'silly' differ widely from their original meanings - and yes, some people are dyslexic and honestly can't help it. But if even official sources can't be bothered, it sets a bad example...

07-29-2010, 05:06 PM	#28
Redfox aka Anne Lyle Posts: 85 Karma: 437516 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Cambridge, UK Device: Sony PRS-600	I hate it when supermarkets hang signs over the express checkout saying "10 items or less". It's fewer, OK!!! Less is used with mass nouns (water, gold, space), fewer with count nouns (pigs, watermelons, nuclear reactors) and numbers. OTOH folk etymology and spelling is sometimes funny. When I lived in South London, I saw a greengrocer's sign giving the price for 'Brockley' (a borough a few miles away) I have no problem with usage changing over the years - 'nice' and 'silly' differ widely from their original meanings - and yes, some people are dyslexic and honestly can't help it. But if even official sources can't be bothered, it sets a bad example... Last edited by Redfox; 07-29-2010 at 05:10 PM.