'Less' versus 'fewer.' Fun names for fingers. Scunscreen.

Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

937. Today, we explore the traditional advice of using "fewer" for things you can count and "less" for things you can't, but you'll also learn about the idea of using "less" for singular nouns and "fewer" for plural nouns and how that solves the problem of common exceptions such as time, money, and distance. You'll also learn how to handle the controversial phrases "one less" and "10 items or less."

And have you ever wondered why our thumb is called a thumb? Or why the "rule of thumb" is so controversial? We look at the origins of these terms and more, and also touch on the many interesting names for fingers in various languages.

Th "fingers" segment was written by Susan Herman, a retired multidisciplined language analyst, analytic editor, and instructor for the U.S. Government.

| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/less-fewer/transcript

| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.

| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.

| Peeve Wars card game.

| Grammar Girl books.

| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) or https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

• Audio Engineer: Nathan Semes
• Director of Podcasts: Adam Cecil
• Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
• Marketing Associate: Davina Tomlin
• Digital Operations Specialist: Holly Hutchings

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

| Grammar Girl Social Media Links: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.