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Denise~*

wrote:

> I used to think something like that, until a journalist "proved" to
> me that the rules say that "several" is the same as "few" -- meaning
> 2 or 3.

and you believed the journalist because...?

> Here's how I used to rationalize it before I was "corrected":
>
> 1 = one
> 2 = 2 or "a couple of"
> 3 or 4 = a few
> 5 = 5
> 6 = 6 or 'half-dozen'
> 7 - 9 several
> 10 ten
>
> 12 = a dozen
>
> I assumed that, since we are familiar with 5 as being half of a
> decade -- and our number system is based on decades, or 10s -- that 5
> was a number of itself.
>
> and that, since we're all familiar with 12 as a dozen, then 6 would
> be a half-dozen.
>
> so, the odd numbers would be 3 or 4, or 7 - 9.
>
> Don't know why I ever spent the time to delineate this, except that I
> KNEW that, some day, an opportunity like this would present itself!
>
> Alan

OK, my brain just did a backflip, but I agree with your theory, rather
than the journalists.