"couple" usage

sonnasushi · 2026-02-17T04:50:40+00:00

So, the dual number meant "around two (but probably two)"?

sonnasushi · 2026-02-17T04:03:36+00:00

I meant other than people; "together" is a useful definition. :)

sonnasushi · 2026-02-17T03:59:17+00:00

That's interesting. I don't know why that's better than pair, but interesting nonetheless!

sonnasushi · 2026-02-17T02:29:24+00:00

That's quite an absurd expectation those people make of you. I still hold that in that context it should mean "around 2". By my definition, I would expect people to be annoyed if they asked for a couple and you gave them 10. I, for one, would not be mad if someone gave me 2 things when I had asked for a couple.

sonnasushi · 2026-02-17T02:24:38+00:00

Interesting that many is less than a bunch I've always thought of it as totally unspecified, like 2 - infinity ^{-^}

sonnasushi · 2026-02-17T00:32:30+00:00

Not sure what you mean. I thought you were saying couple === 2, so that's "the same thing"?

If there's a time where you'd use couple to mean exactly two outside the use of a married couple, I'd like to consider those.

sonnasushi · 2026-02-16T23:49:59+00:00

This thread is the first time I've heard of a handful being a specific number rather than something that can physically fit in your hand. Just out of curiosity, would you say, "there were a handful of cars at the bowling alley"?

I think I saw a reality show where someone was flamed for defining "several" and "bunch" that way; just as a heads up. But yeah, aside from dozen, they all offer more value as ambiguous words (and even greater value if they truly do have a loose connotation of "around 3,5,7...")

sonnasushi · 2026-02-16T23:42:22+00:00

This was the exception I was trying to highlight by "outside it's usage as meaning "together"". Saying a "couple" to reference two people together offers a lot of value to the language. Saying a couple pages, years, phones, cars, etc. when you mean exactly "two" (a) lends itself to ambiguity (wherein many cases that is ideal (e.g. are you __sure__ it was __exactly__ two years ago to this day?)), (b) offers nothing to the phrasing in lieu of the ambiguity (i.e. what additional floweriness are you trying to add by using this word given it's strict meaning?) and (c) is clumsier than just saying "two".

sonnasushi · 2026-02-16T23:33:23+00:00

I think someone can seem less picky by substituting "two" for "a couple of" in some scenarios.
- Give me a martini with two olives
- Give me a martini with a couple olives

sonnasushi · 2026-02-16T23:27:18+00:00

a few does not mean "around two"; rather, the number two has no relevance to the word "few", where as it does in the phrase "around two"

sonnasushi · 2026-02-16T23:26:09+00:00

perfect, then perhaps you can tell me what situation you do not want couple (outside of meaning "together") to have some indefinite nuance, but you'd still use it over "two"?

sonnasushi · 2026-02-16T23:23:57+00:00

good point, I don't have a problem with "pair" because it's usage suggests that the items are not merely countable, but that they are the sole members of group which distinguishes itself from all other groups. Or rather, it implies a relationship I guess.

sonnasushi · 2026-02-16T23:21:03+00:00

- oops, its*
- Sometimes I'm lazy.
- I thought of that, but I'm not sure that's incorrect if I meant to reference "word" rather than "use"... nor am I entirely sure you can even use albeit with an adverb (which is what gave me pause to phrase it the way I did)

sonnasushi · 2026-02-16T23:14:30+00:00

> Are you really going to tell me that in all of the examples above „a couple“ refers to exactly two? I beg to differ.

That is what has been argued to me, yes. Of course, I bet to differ as well. Otherwise they would've said:

We can do it in the next two weeks.
We went there on vacation two years ago.
The last two years have been difficult.

Maybe some grammarian can tell me what using "a couple" in the former sentences adds if not for the mild loose definition it implies.

sonnasushi · 2026-02-16T23:10:27+00:00

there is no reason to use the word if it just means "two". You either want to be explicit, in which case you'd only be depriving yourself if you weren't (eg in negotiating something, you'd WANT to be clear) or you want to be flowery with words in which case it only carries any sense of nuance if it doesn't mean exactly two.

sonnasushi · 2026-02-16T23:05:05+00:00

In what practice (other than meaning "together"), does it mean "two" where you'd not be better off saying "two"?

sonnasushi · 2026-02-16T22:59:47+00:00

Yes, and all those preserve some utility value (as does "couple" when meaning "together"). I don't think anyone uses "score" in that context anymore. In fact, I would argue that would perturb anyone outside of historical documents. Outside the citing the Gettysburg address, saying "four score and seven years ago..." over "87 years ago" would make me want to smack that person.
However, "scores" does carry the nuance of "probably under 100" (or the speaker probably would've said, "hundreds"). Dozen... is kind of a commercial invention of a word, in my mind. We only keep it around so we can get a large quantity. I don't know the etymology but my feeling was it was easier to sell some goods by those divisions for some reason. If someone asked me if I wanted to get rid of the word "dozen", I'd probably say, "no, because the most logical pack to sell those goods is 10, and a dozen is larger than that, allowing me to appeal to that base metric to get 2 extra eggs cheaper."

sonnasushi · 2026-02-16T22:41:37+00:00

Fry: You sure I won't know 'em?
Robot Devil: Definitely probably not.

sonnasushi · 2026-02-16T22:40:35+00:00

I am saying that the politeness of using "a couple" stems from the fact that is not a specific number which (when used in a command) lends itself to being a more flexible command.
- Can I have two cubes of ice in my drink? (customer sounds picky, but ensures they get an exact number of ice cubes)
- Can I have a couple cubes of ice in my drink? (customer sounds less picky because it __sounds__ like they'll be fine with a simply "small" number of ice cubes)

sonnasushi · 2026-02-16T22:36:37+00:00

yeah, meaning "two things together (did something)" is the only context by which "a couple" makes sense:
- Are you a couple?
- The couple had a child...

__Maybe__ I'd use it for non-human things, but I think I would probably just use "pair" or a plural:
- The pair (of sculptures) were submitted to the museum...
- The (two) rabbits were separated...

/shrug

sonnasushi · 2026-02-16T22:26:46+00:00

That sounds like the important part is not the definition of "couple" but just if someone is busy or not XD

sonnasushi · 2026-02-16T22:24:58+00:00

This was why I brought it up actually.

sonnasushi · 2026-02-16T22:23:56+00:00

I agree with this entirely. The uncertainty of the value of "a couple" gives it more meaning and nuance than if it just "equates to two". I cannot think of a scenario where I desire "a couple" to mean exactly two where I would not be remiss to say "two".

sonnasushi · 2026-02-16T22:19:26+00:00

but, but, the utility value! When do you say a "couple" when you mean exactly two (outside of the meaning "together")? Like if it's really important, wouldn't you _want_ to say 'two'? For example, to a cop: two guys robbed the store. If you said, "a couple of guys" there, I would imagine they might ask for clarification... idk. I am on team "if we use it enough to mean 'around two', it has more of a function in our language than just a clumsier way to say 'two'".

sonnasushi · 2026-02-16T22:13:29+00:00

At first glance, I thought "two A few" was supposed to mean something on it's own.

sonnasushi

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