Language poll

[Tanaqui]

I admit it, I'm bored. The kids are ensconced in their books, and my cat is refusing to get off my lap, so I can't get up and do something else.

 

Soooo I was reading random XKCDs today.

 

If things are too quiet, try asking a couple of friends whether "a couple" should always mean "two". As with the question of how many spaces should go after a period, it can turn acrimonious surprisingly fast unless all three of them agree.

 

Hence the poll. Does a couple have to only and always mean "two"? (Let's hope this doesn't actually get acrimonious. That would be boring.)

[Guest]

No no no.  A couple = TWO. 2. Deux. Dos.

A few is between 3 and 5.

Several is between 5-10.

Many is 10+.

[Guest]

Now that's just semantics :laugh:

[Guest]

I most often say it to mean precisely two, otherwise I say "a few," but I do sometimes say it to mean a general small number. I think it depends on how precise the nouns are. So, if I said I went to lunch with "a couple of friends," I mean two friends came. But if I said I saw a movie "a couple of weeks ago," i mean recently, some small number of weeks. I don't mean I remember the precise date and it was literally just two weeks ago.

 

There are other grammar misuses that do bug me a tiny bit, though. Nevertheless, I try to let it go.

[rebbyribs]

Two: a couple not a few!

 

[Twigs]

This reminds me of a time I went with friend to the store. She said she needed bread and milk. She got a cart and proceeded to fill it up. To me, "bread and milk" meant 2 items, while she meant it to be a regular shopping trip!

[Junie]

When dh says two, he means exactly two.  I'll quietly admit that dh is right.

 

 

When I say two, I mean two or maybe more than two.

I will blame this one on my dad.  If he says that he's going to eat two M&M's, for instance, he usually means two or three handsful.  :)

 

 

[Eagle]

It was difficult to select between misguided and wrong. I went with wrong.

[Mimm]

A couple is two. A few is more than two and less than probably a dozen or something, unless you're talking about something tiny like candy. "I only had a few pieces of the Halloween candy before Halloween!"

[athomeontheprairie]

Usually when I hear a "couple" people mean two. BUT I don't-and I wasn't raised that way. I use it to mean a small amount under 5. As a result, if they say a couple, I ask for clarification- two?

 

If you mean 2 (3,4) use a number.

[Petrichor]

Usually when I say I want a couple ___, I'm not sure how much I really want, and end up wanting more than two. A couple of ice cubes, a couple of m&ms, a couple of fries, all usually start out with an intention for two, but always end up meaning more than that. 

 

But if someone says "bring a couple of pencils" or "I want a couple of flowers in each vase," I take that to mean two. I'm not bringing/putting three. I'm not going to shout at them if they change their mind and say that they really wanted a bit more than two. If they ask for a couple of pens or a couple of markers, I will probably bring more than two, just in case one doesn't work(assuming it's not brand new, and I didn't take the time to scribble test it), or if the markers came in different colors. 

[DesertBlossom]

It always means exactly 2. Unless I'm telling my children just a "couple more minutes." Then it can be whatever I want.

[Liz CA]

Funny. Dh thinks "couple" is always two. I think it can be any small number up to, oh let's say 5-6.  :) It often really depends what I am talking about. I bought a couple of beets is likely more than two. It's going to take me a couple of hours..means most likely very close to two.

[Pawz4me]

For the purposes of this poll I voted that it always means two.

 

But in reality . . .  context matters.

 

As already stated, "a couple of minutes" is rarely meant to mean exactly two.

 

If we're fixing lunch and I ask someone to hand me a couple of slices of bread I mean exactly two.

 

But if we're eating and DS asks for a couple of my fries what he really means is "If I leave you a couple can I have the rest?"

 

And if DH asks me if I have a couple of dollars he can have I'm usually going to hand him a $5 or higher denomination because I rarely have ones..

[creekland]

Since hubby and I are a couple, I'll say it means just the two of us.   :coolgleamA:

 

If we say we'll get to something in a couple of minutes, you might want to ask us how we define minutes...  Time isn't necessarily constant.

[Carrie12345]

I voted for the lose definition because use the word more often when I'm not speaking in concrete terms, like time or M&Ms as mentioned.  If I want 2 of something, I'll say 2.

[MEmama]

For the purposes of this poll I voted that it always means two.

 

But in reality . . . context matters.

 

As already stated, "a couple of minutes" is rarely meant to mean exactly two.

 

If we're fixing lunch and I ask someone to hand me a couple of slices of bread I mean exactly two.

 

But if we're eating and DS asks for a couple of my fries what he really means is "If I leave you a couple can I have the rest?"

 

And if DH asks me if I have a couple of dollars he can have I'm usually going to hand him a $5 or higher denomination because I rarely have ones..

I can't say I spend any time thinking about it, but if I had to it would be this. ^^^

 

To DS, however, it would absolutely mean TWO. If "a couple" is relating to time I can guarantee he'll be keeping a close eye on his watch and inform you when you ultimately took 3 minutes and 12 seconds that you were WRONG and should have said a few instead. An exception might be made for food, so if he asks for a couple slices of cheese he actually means half the loaf. :)

[UCF612]

I know it means two but admittedly am a terrible person who uses it to mean a small number.

[luuknam]

Depends on context, but 2, or maybe 3. Especially with the "couple of weeks ago" example. Usually a "couple" would not mean 4-5 for me, but I voted for 2-5 since I'm not always strict about it being 2.

 

That said, I'm not a native speaker, and I reserve the right to abuse the English language by inserting Dutch-isms, including allowing up to 3 in a 'couple'. I was corrected on my usage by my wife shortly after moving to the US and getting married, but 'couple' still seems more correct if the answer is more likely to be 2 than 3 but could be 3, rather than 'few', which to me implies that it's probably 3-5, but sometimes 2 or 6 or w/e.

 

The easy way is to say 'some', which means anything from 1 to infinity.