I know Lemmy is basically just Reddit and thus full of pedants who think they are smarter than the average person. But you need to realise that 99% of people out there don’t think of 2 items when thinking about “a couple of things”. In my 15 or so years of knowing English, I’ve never encountered a use of “a couple of” where the speaker meant exactly two. So yes they are correct technically, but at the same time just communicating poorly
I’m on your side against atomicblocks, but in my 65+ years of speaking English I have been in many, many situations where “a couple” of things meant exactly two. Even situations where the exact number is quite important but also familiar and understood, like “take a couple of aspirin” or “I hitched a couple of horses to the wagon.” But also many situations where it meant a small handful or the exact number wasn’t important. Both uses are acceptable but “a few” or “some” or “several” are preferable if it’s three or more. People who ask for “a couple” while expecting more are pretending to themselves and you that they aren’t being greedy.
The person you called a pedant is merely literal-minded.
Maybe the generally accepted definition of “a couple of things” changed throughout the years. I am not exaggerating when I say I’ve never heard it used to refer to exactly two things, neither in English nor in my native language where there exists an equivalent phrase. But if you say that you have heard it that way, then so be it. Not to say you’re old or anything, but English did change a little bit since 65+ years ago. I don’t really understand where all the people arguing against a contemporary dictionary came from but it is quite entertaining :D
I’m not arguing that “a couple of things” can never be two, but that its pedantic to expect everyone to think it means “exactly two”, when clearly that isn’t the case, as proven by dictionaries. Language changes, and it’s ridiculous to stand your ground and say “No! ‘Couple’ means two, so ‘a couple of’ must also mean two of!”. It’s like redirecting a river with traffic signs, you can try but it’s not gonna change how the phrase is used in modern, contemporary English.
Honestly for a moment I thought I was taking crazy pills in this thread. I had to show this to a couple people to make sure I’m not completely out of touch, but they all confirmed that “a couple of” is usually more than two. Idk why people on here are so argumentative about this :D
And yeah, atomicblocks was just fighting ghosts. Idk what they thought this was about, but they just didn’t seem to understand what was being discussed. Oh well, just another pointless argument on the internet
why would they be confused if they receive 2 things? a couple of means in any case 2 or more.
Bad example. More like if OP asked for a couple of peanuts and was confused when he received 3
I know Lemmy is basically just Reddit and thus full of pedants who think they are smarter than the average person. But you need to realise that 99% of people out there don’t think of 2 items when thinking about “a couple of things”. In my 15 or so years of knowing English, I’ve never encountered a use of “a couple of” where the speaker meant exactly two. So yes they are correct technically, but at the same time just communicating poorly
sounds like your English teacher taught you wrong, as a joke.
a couple of blocks means two or three blocks, and more likely two.
if I was looking for something “a couple of blocks away” and still hadn’t seen it by the fourth, I’d assume the directions were wrong or I’d got lost.
you’re arguing against a dictionary definition
yes we do think of two things (maybe three) when someone says “a couple of things”.
that’s a totally normal interpretation.
I’m on your side against atomicblocks, but in my 65+ years of speaking English I have been in many, many situations where “a couple” of things meant exactly two. Even situations where the exact number is quite important but also familiar and understood, like “take a couple of aspirin” or “I hitched a couple of horses to the wagon.” But also many situations where it meant a small handful or the exact number wasn’t important. Both uses are acceptable but “a few” or “some” or “several” are preferable if it’s three or more. People who ask for “a couple” while expecting more are pretending to themselves and you that they aren’t being greedy.
The person you called a pedant is merely literal-minded.
Maybe the generally accepted definition of “a couple of things” changed throughout the years. I am not exaggerating when I say I’ve never heard it used to refer to exactly two things, neither in English nor in my native language where there exists an equivalent phrase. But if you say that you have heard it that way, then so be it. Not to say you’re old or anything, but English did change a little bit since 65+ years ago. I don’t really understand where all the people arguing against a contemporary dictionary came from but it is quite entertaining :D
I’m not arguing that “a couple of things” can never be two, but that its pedantic to expect everyone to think it means “exactly two”, when clearly that isn’t the case, as proven by dictionaries. Language changes, and it’s ridiculous to stand your ground and say “No! ‘Couple’ means two, so ‘a couple of’ must also mean two of!”. It’s like redirecting a river with traffic signs, you can try but it’s not gonna change how the phrase is used in modern, contemporary English.
Honestly for a moment I thought I was taking crazy pills in this thread. I had to show this to a couple people to make sure I’m not completely out of touch, but they all confirmed that “a couple of” is usually more than two. Idk why people on here are so argumentative about this :D
And yeah, atomicblocks was just fighting ghosts. Idk what they thought this was about, but they just didn’t seem to understand what was being discussed. Oh well, just another pointless argument on the internet
FWIW I’ve had this utterly engrossing and important discussion with numerous friends, family, and acquaintances. We arrived at:
a few has a much wider range, and I’d never call only two a few.
I respect that, but you’d confuse me saying “a few” if you meant 5 when “several” is right there!