Why "10 items or less", and not "10 items or

Hi all,

This has been bothering me for a long time. Why supermarkets put up signs of "10 items or less", and not "10 items or fewer" at their express checkout lanes? As I understand, "less" is for uncountable nouns while "few" for the countable. Is it not true here?

It seems like the distinction between "less" and "fewer" is not always made in English.

I can see people saying:

1) "In less than 100 years, global warming will heat the oceans to the boiling point" ("fewer" could be used here, but it sounds a bit formal)

but

2) "Getting an L.L.D. takes fewer years than getting an M.D" ("less" seems strange here, at least to me)

Most likely it has more to do with the cost of the sign. Frequently lettering on signs is based upon the number of letters or words. There are fewer letters in "less" than in "fewer." It all comes down to money.

less is way more used then fewer.

try reading it this way:

"10 items or less (that that amount)"

or

"10 items or less (than that number)"

then it will make sense. otherwise I agree, if referring to 'items', "fewer" should be used. who knows what they were thinking in their heads at the time ['amount', 'number', 'count', etc...]

CORRECTION:

"10 ... less (that that amount)" should read "(thaN that amount)"

The "correct" grammar is indeed "10 items or fewer", and it's one thing annoys some grammarians. But "less" is indeed much more common, and it's still not entirely illogical... if you have nine items, one is likely enough to think in one's head, "9 is *less than* 10" (that is, 9 < 10). So the use of the "incorrect" grammar isn't particularly surprising, especially considering that many people are unaware of the distinction. I think Isaac Asimov -- a professional writer -- was once asked about it, and he said it was the first he heard of it.

Also, I think "ten items or less" has a better-sounding prosody than "ten items or fewer", so it kind of sounds better even though it's "incorrect".

- Kef

I think "fewer" is more likely to be used right before a plural (countable) noun:

1) Class 2 sensors contain fewer column defects than class 3 sensors. ("less" would seem strange this sentence.)

2) Class 2 sensors contain less than 4 column defects. (could be "fewer" or "less")

3) Class 2 sensors contain 3 column defect or less. ("fewer" seems a bit too formal here.

"Less" does sound a bit more awkward in the first sentence than in the others, but it's still common.

Thank you all for your replies! I guess I will have to accept this usage as it is and come to terms with it.