Pet Peeve #3

I have several things that I could call pet peeves, i.e., things, actions, attitudes that disturb me more than most. You probably do as well. People that park in the lanes at Wal-Mart stalking folks who are about to open up a parking space is one. Churches that claim to be "friendly" but whose hospitality skills are on the early side of a tall learning curve is another. The poor use of the English language is probably up there among the top three or so for me...a product of my upbringing and a credit to my Senior High English Teacher, Miss Susie West.

Chief among these is the misuse of the terms "fewer" and "less." In recent years they have become interchangeable in useage. That doesn't make it right. To my way of understanding, "fewer" has to do with numbers you can count individuallyas in, "There are fewer people here today" or "Fewer votes were cast in this election." "Less" has a different attribute: it has to do with quantity of volume or mass, as in "There is less water in the glass now," or "There was less snow on the ground after the heat wave."

The mixup happens because both "fewer" and "less" mean the opposite of "more." It happens so often that when I actually hear someone using the terms correctly I want stop and congratulate them. I know. I don't. But I want to.

Wal-Mart and other stores have signs at some of their check-out stands (the ones for quick service) reading "20 items or less." It makes my skin crawl.

When someone refers to there being "less people in church than usual" I have the mental image of midgets and dwarfs populating the pews...or of legless torsos floating down the aisles.

It's a small thing to most people, and I probably should just let it go. But if we let every little thing that isn't just right continue without objection, a lot more things will be messed up before long. So I've had my little rant. Thanks for listening I feel better. More or less.