Funny Quote From Tot

[qwertz]

Whats incorrect about a sign saying "Less than 10 items only"?

Makes sense to me?

A traditional rule of English usage holds that less should be used only of uncountable things, that is, things that can be measured but not counted as discrete units. Thus "less electricity," "less than a quart," "less doubt." Fewer, on the other hand, should be used only of things that can be counted: "fewer people," "fewer cars." According to this rule, less should modify plural nouns only when they suggest combination into a unit, group, or aggregation. Thus "less than three miles" (with "three miles" being a single distance, not three individual miles), "less than $50" (fifty dollars as a sum of money, not fifty one-dollar bills).

it seems quite clear that "item" is a countable thing no matter how you look at it. Not only is it conceptually countable, but in the scenario you mention, ten items would be permissible for a place on the express line, but eleven would not, period. (Of course, how one determines an "item" is up to the supermarket--a bag of four onions could be considered one bag or four individual onions. Either way, however, you are asked to conform to a specific number, not a general quantity.) So if you're strictly adhering to the traditional rule, you'd have to say that "10 items or less" is not acceptable, and it should properly read "10 items or fewer." Since, as mentioned, the "or less" construction is common even with countables, and the "rule" is not based on much anyway, I myself wouldn't worry about correcting the supermarket.

Hi A, me again, you'll doubtless be thrilled to learn that my English is improving by the day. Does this mean I will have less or fewer problems at the checkouts if I digest and adhere strictly to the aforementioned rule or will I just have fewer trouble?

P.S. I'm exotically intoxicated by velocity of your verbosity, I think?