@checkervest
I was staring at a PSA on the train this morning that mentioned "one less worry" and my first thought was "probably should be 'fewer'" but then I wondered: when will we stop caring? Are we already there? It's a grammar rule that doesn't seem to resolve any problems.

@mikeburns plus the two words have been used interchangeably for hundreds of years. The only reason the rule is there is because someone in the 18th century thought one usage was more elegant than the other.

@checkervest @mikeburns ... Huh? They are not used interchangeably and never have been. You cannot be "fewer happy," you cannot run "fewer fast," etc. It literally only works in the opposite direction. Fewer is 100% exclusively used with count nouns, without exception.

@noxy @mikeburns I'm sorry, I should have been clearer: the classic less/fewer grammar issue comes up specifically when used in a situation where counting is required. You can't run "fewer fast," but you can either "run fewer miles" or "run less miles" and you would technically be correct.

@checkervest @mikeburns Technically you *wouldn't* be correct, but it would still be fine make sense. That doesn't mean the distinction is useless and should be done away with.

@checkervest @mikeburns oops, forgot an "and"

@noxy
Having read more into this I must ask: in which way would you technically not be correct? (And, apparently, in which year?)
@checkervest

@mikeburns @checkervest You would technically not be correct because since the late 16th century (iirc) that has been the rule. That's what you both mean by "technically," no? According to the rule. It's fine to break the rules, that's what language is all about. Being super technical often sounds stilted, obviously. That's not exclusive to English. Doesn't change the fact that words mean things and that clarity can be useful.

@noxy @mikeburns the issue with linguistic prescription is that you have to pick your line in the sand. The "less/fewer" distinction exists entirely because in 1770 a man named Baker expressed a personal preference that it sounded more elegant to say "no fewer than a hundred." Should we freeze all word usage to remain in compliance with the way people used words in 1770? Words do mean things, but they change over time as a part of a language's natural growth.

@checkervest @mikeburns But it's not just an arbitrary preference at this point, it's been a tacitly accepted rule for over 200 years. It's frequently broken, but the general consensus that is the essence of meaning is still there. If someone uses "less" for a count noun in a non-idiomatic way, it sounds incorrect. We don't have an academy that decides grammar so the general agreement on what "sounds right" is as close as we will get.

@noxy @mikeburns I believe that the primary purpose of language is to communicate, and that it's easy to get too caught up in the "rules" and alienate other people from the conversation. What "sounds right" changes from year to year and from community to community. I can see where you're coming from, because I spent many years feeling the same way, but I think that you and I are not going to agree on this issue.

@checkervest @mikeburns That's fine. For what's it worth, I don't disagree with what you just said. I have said repeatedly that I'm not in favor of prescriptive grammar. People should speak English in whatever way they like, and I don't think I'm alienating anyone by acknowledging a general consensus.

@checkervest
I finally read the Baker 1770 citation and have achieved enlightenment.

@mikeburns many of the current-day tricky word choice grammar situations were caused entirely by an individual dude's personal preferences back in the 1700 or 1800's that somehow became codified into law

@checkervest @mikeburns Yeah, it seems like a case of complementary distribution at the semantic level.

My partner and I sometimes switch them around for humorous effect, implying a count noun is a mass noun (or vice versa) but I think that only highlights their complementarity.

I think the less/fewer distinction is slowly on its way out in American English, personally.

@noxy
"Nonsensical" is a tall claim. Is there a time when using the ungrammatical word causes ambiguity?

@mikeburns It's not really a tall claim at all. "Fewer" only makes sense if the thing in question can be counted, i.e. is a "count noun." The word "less" is used with non-count nouns, adjectives, adverbs, etc.

There are examples of idiomatic phrases that don't follow this rule ("one less problem") but they are exceptions. I'm not advocating for prescriptive grammar or anything but the two words definitely do not mean the same thing.

@starbreaker
Right? I've been trying to think of an ambiguity all morning and I'm at a loss.

(Though that is a statement about my word play abilities and not a statement about language...)