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What's the most petty/pointless/pedantic hill you're willing to die on? (programming.dev)

submitted 3 months ago by notnotmike@programming.dev to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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For me, it may be that the toilet paper roll needs to have the open end away from the wall. I don't want to reach under the roll to take a piece! That's ludicrous!

That or my recent addiction to correcting people when they use "less" when they should use "fewer"

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[-] SoGrumpy@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 months ago

Look in any English language dictionary. Show me an entry that states a couple is more than two

I‘ll wait.

[-] Eiri@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago

https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/couple-few-several-use

Couple is used to refer to two things, but is also often used for a small number greater than two.

by the 1500s, it was also being used in the phrase a couple of to refer to an indefinite but still small number of people or things

Verdict: couple is used of small numbers most of the time, but usually at least two or more.

So yeah, the meaning of "at least two but possibly a bit more than that" has been around for a loooooong time.

this post was submitted on 23 Aug 2024

466 points (100.0% liked)

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