Editing 1070: Words for Small Sets
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| titletext = 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. | | titletext = 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. | ||
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β | + | [https://www.google.com.hk/][https://www.google.com.hk/][https://www.google.com] | |
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
The noun "couple" can mean "exactly two items of the same kind," or it can be used interchangeably with words like "few" or "several", which in this context mean "comparatively small but definitely greater than one". But some people insist that "couple" can only mean two, by analogy with the specific use of the word "couple" to refer to exactly one pair of people who are in a romantic relationship. | The noun "couple" can mean "exactly two items of the same kind," or it can be used interchangeably with words like "few" or "several", which in this context mean "comparatively small but definitely greater than one". But some people insist that "couple" can only mean two, by analogy with the specific use of the word "couple" to refer to exactly one pair of people who are in a romantic relationship. |