Timeline for What does “a couple” mean to you, and what does “a few” mean to you?
Current License: CC BY-SA 2.5
10 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 17, 2018 at 19:06 | comment | added | phk | @TRiG "Only (a) few" is common? | |
| Jan 24, 2018 at 19:19 | comment | added | TRiG | @6005 Yes, and that's why I mostly didn't use any actual numbers. | |
| Jan 24, 2018 at 19:00 | comment | added | Caleb Stanford | I like this answer. One striking and important thing about these words (couple, few, etc. ) is that their meaning depends on the context. For instance, "There are quite a few people at the party" might indicate 30 people, but "She ate quite a few eggs for breakfast" might indicate 5 to 7. | |
| Feb 2, 2013 at 5:37 | comment | added | JTP - Apologise to Monica | @TRiG - Wow - Google results changed nearly 100% after I signed out. And reflect exactly what you mentioned. I sign back in, and it's old happy couples. | |
| Feb 2, 2013 at 4:39 | comment | added | TRiG | @JoeTaxpayer. Really? I get wedding photography and "premarital relationship workshops for happily engaged or newlywed couples". | |
| Feb 2, 2013 at 4:14 | comment | added | JTP - Apologise to Monica | Off topic, I suppose, but I never associated "happy couple" with newly weds. In fact the first google hit for the phrase reference couples of any age. | |
| Dec 12, 2012 at 20:53 | comment | added | mklement | Fair point, my bad - I misread your statement as saying that the use of 'couple' as a noun in its own right was idiomatic. | |
| Dec 12, 2012 at 20:26 | comment | added | TRiG | @mklement. The phrase "the happy couple" does not apply to any two people who happen to be happy. It refers specifically to newlyweds. Therefore, the meaning of the phrase cannot be directly inferred from the meanings of the component words. As such, it qualifies as an idiom. | |
| Dec 12, 2012 at 20:14 | comment | added | mklement | Good stuff, but: 'the happy couple' is not an idiom; 'couple' is simply a noun in its own right, and the use as a phrasal noun modifier ('a couple of') was likely derived from it. I don't think calling 'several' a 'large number' is accurate; for instance, the American Heritage dictionary defines 'several' as "Being of a number more than two or three but not many" - education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/several | |
| Oct 14, 2010 at 20:41 | history | answered | TRiG | CC BY-SA 2.5 |