How many is a couple?

[Ben Hatcher]

LOML and I have had a debate going for a while now on how many "a couple" represents. She says 2. I say 2 or more and say a couple and a few can be used interchangeably to represent a small but unknown quantity. I mean, if I knew it was 2 I would just say 2.

What do you think?


Exactly 2
2 or more
Both

[Brian Kent]

"I'll have it done in a couple of days" means "up to two".

[Gary Max]

What if you where only going to spend a Couple bucks on tools??????????????????

[Scott Shepherd]

A couple is two. If you think 3 is a couple, then I can see why your wife disagrees with you. You are her are a couple (meaning 2 people), correct? Let her go get a boyfriend and bring him to live with you all. Would you 3 be considered a couple? I don't think so!

[Eddie Watkins]

Sorry, I agree with LOYL on this as in "they make a great couple", etc. On the other hand if soembody told me to go a couple of miles down the road I would assume they meant about 2 miles not exactly 2 miles.

[Myk Rian]

A couple=2. Nuff said.

[Ben Hatcher]

When it comes to people, yes, I totally agree that a couple is two. But like Gary said, a couple of bucks is how many? If you're going out with your friends, how many is a couple of beers?

[David Helm]

. . . and a few is generally felt to be 3 or more up to about 7

[Bruce Page]

I’ve always viewed “a couple” as 2. A “few” as 3–6 and several as 7+

[Bryan Slimp]

That's a funny discussion in a group of people that worry about 64ths.

[Dave Gaul]

I’ve always viewed “a couple” as 2. A “few” as 3–6 and several as 7+

+ 1 on that theory!

[Dave Gaul]

That's a funny discussion in a group of people that worry about 64ths.

Ha! That was a good afternoon laugh!

[Zach England]

There is an Amazonian language that has no words for numbers. There are words to express relative quantities like "more" or "fewer" or "a lot", but no words you can use to count.

[Dan Hintz]

"A couple" = 2
"A few" = 3+, with no defined upper limit
"A handful" = what I'm left with if I argue with my wife about such topics...

[Larry Browning]

I looked it up:
cou·ple

   [kuhp-uhhttp://sp.dictionary.com/dictstatic/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngl] http://sp.dictionary.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif (http://dictionary.reference.com/help/luna/Spell_pron_key.html) Show IPA noun, verb, -pled, -pling.
–noun 1. two of the (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/the) same sort considered together; pair.

2. two persons considered as joined together, as a married or engaged pair, lovers, or dance partners: They make a handsome couple.

3. any two persons considered together.

EXPAND
–verb (used with object) 8. to fasten, link, or associate together in a pair or pairs.

9. to join; connect.

10. to unite in marriage (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/marriage) or in sexual union.

EXPAND
–verb (used without object) 12. to join in a pair; unite.

13. to copulate.


—Idiom 14. a couple of, more than two, but not many, of; a small number of; a few: It will take a couple of days for the package to get there. Also, a couple.

—Usage note
The phrase a couple of has been in standard use for centuries, especially with measurements of time and distance and in referring to amounts of money: They walked a couple of miles in silence. Repairs will probably cost a couple of hundred dollars. The phrase is used in all but the most formal speech and writing. The shortened phrase a couple, without of ( The gas station is a couple miles from here ), is an Americanism of recent development that occurs chiefly in informal speech or representations of speech. Without a following noun, the phrase is highly informal: Jack shouldn't drive. I think he's had a couple. (Here the noun drinks is omitted.)
In referring to two people, couple, like many collective nouns, may take either a singular or a plural verb. Most commonly, it is construed as a plural: The couple were traveling to Texas. See also collective noun (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/collective+noun).

[Jim Koepke]

A couple = 2

A few is 3 or so

A bunch is when there are more than a few.

A couple of bucks on tools is what I tell my wife I spent. I never make clear as to whether it was a couple of 1 buck bills or 5 buck bills or 20 buck bills, unless I am sure she is going to find out.

A couple of beers is kind of short hand for saying I forgot to count after two, I didn't know there was going to be a test.

Just be aware if you are a bit tipsy, she will know you have consumed more than just two. Of course, some of the places I have been do serve beer in gallon containers for take out. Your state laws may vary.

jtk

[Jim Rimmer]

That's a funny discussion in a group of people that worry about 64ths.

Couldn't agree more. :D

[Gary Hodgin]

I use it both ways, but mostly two or more. I mean 2 if I'm referring to the "happy couple," but 2 or more if I tell my wife I'll paint the fence in a couple of days. I'll use a specific number when I want to be precise. I may have picked up this use since I married. In some cases I don't want to be real precise.

I use "in a minute" the same way, it means one or more but generally more.

[Brett Baldwin]

While I know that a couple means exactly two and a few is 3 or more, I think all but the most precise people use the phrase "a couple (of) [insert noun here]" as meaning 2+ but not a lot more, at least some of the time. It's really about being lazy and following the crowd in our speech patterns. Even though I'm the annoying type to use an imprecisely used "couple" to my advantage, I know I do it too.

Then of course you have to factor in the deceptive uses referred to by a few previous respondents. e.g. "No honey, I only had a couple beers."

[Bruce Page]

I may have picked up this use since I married. In some cases I don't want to be real precise.

LOL! That’s always been my philosophy too!

[John Pratt]

A couple of beers is kind of short hand for saying I forgot to count after two, I didn't know there was going to be a test.

jtk

Isn't that what every drunk tells the cop who pulls them over.

[Jeff Nicol]

A couple has always been 2 in my world, and when I mean more than 2 it is then a few, but after that it can go from many, a bunch, a lot or when all else fails use the exact number of miles, beers, dogs, or whatever you walked, drank or had or have. The only thing you can buy for tools at a "Couple" bucks is a cheap screw driver or maybe a beat up thing from a thrift shop or rummage sale, so I never say I spent a couple of bucks on tools as it is just not possible!

Jeff

[Belinda Barfield]

Kind of funny, but the SO and I are opposite in this. Of course a couple is two people. A "couple" of anything else to me can be two or more. He, on the other hand, has very strict rules whereby a couple is always 2, a few is 3, some is more than 3, and a handful is more than some. He left 64ths behind a few years ago for hundredths and thousandths.

A few weeks ago I was personalizing one of the wooden Ipad cases we fabricate. A laser engraving job that should have taken maybe 10 minutes including the location test took, I swear, two and a half hours of back and forth between the two of us over what exactly was the the center point of the case.

[Luc Vincent]

I voted 2 or more...mostly because it always seems like it takes more time to count to two, than it does just to grab "a couple" of whatever and end up with a bonus depending on how many you can grab with one hand. If there's money involved though..I usually count what I need...LOL!

[Larry Edgerton]

I always thought it was two, but......

When I have a couple of chocolates the whole concept get confusing.........

Larry

[Greg Peterson]

This is what happens when you been married for a while. You no longer disagree about how to solve world peace or the meaning of life. You disagree about the stuff that really matters.

Without taking sides, the key to this 'conversation' context.

It can mean two or a pair. It can also imply an approximation.

Depending on the context, 'a couple' can be a casual way of saying two. Or it can mean you are my next priority, as in "Give me a couple seconds". Surely no one would expect that to mean two seconds.

[Jim Heikes]

From the area of USELESS information........in Fox Hunting 12 1/2 couple = 25 hounds soooooooo a couple = 2.:D:D:D:D;);)

[Gary Hodgin]

I can't argue with fox hunting rules, so 2 it is.

[Robert Ethan]

My wife and I are a couple...My wife, I and our kids are a family, not a couple, but I do have a couple of kids and a couple of grand-children...COUPLE = 2...period. Maybe some of you have a different explanation for a couple; therefore what are your definitions for one, a couple, and many/several? Words are powerful, but often used incorrectly. Might be why lawyers make big bucks…and why it’s hard to read legal text. Now I can go argue with the wife about what a pinch of something is!!!

[Brian Kent]

I have had a couple of posts removed. I have deserved to have my posts removed a couple of times.
In this case it means I can remember two for sure, but don't pin me down on two.
I went on line and bought a couple of tools, for which I spent a couple of bucks. That means at least two, but I really don't want to 'fess up.
"Honest officer, I only had a couple of drinks!" means "I am lying to a police officer, who for sure will not believe me."
You can couple a hundred train cars together.

[Thomas Canfield]

"I'll have it done in a couple of days" means "up to two".

That is like saying "manama" means tomorrow, and I learned that in Italian it only means not today. A couple of minutes can take a while.

[mike holden]

I have often subscribed to the following form of counting: "One, Two, Some, Many....." - Baldrick on the Black Adder Series starring Rowan Atkinson.

Mike

[Mike Cruz]

"A" is one. A "couple" is two. A "few" is three. Anything over that is scads. :)

[Tom Vanzant]

64ths... how many shavings is that?

[Jim Underwood]

Depends on what you're talking about really..

If you're talking about a married pair, then it's exactly two. (Well, until the polyamourists start re-defining marriage.)

If you're asking someone to get a few screws, then a couple is probably two..

If someone asks you how many of those tools you have, and you just don't remember, then you say, "I think I have a couple of those."

1/64 is approximately .015 inches- or just a little thicker than a matchbook cover. What? You didn't know that?

[Jeff Bratt]

Depends on the context - a couple is two people, but a couple of minutes is much less specific.

I always thought there are overlapping ranges to non-specific quantity designations:
couple: 1 - 3
few: 2 - 7
several: 5 - 12
dozen: could mean exactly 12 (or 13), or 10 - 20
lots: more than the others
many: I don't want to know...
hundreds
thousands
millions
billions
now which is bigger - jillions or gazillions???

...my couple of cents worth.

[john brenton]

A couple pairs of socks is 4 individual socks...that's the only thing I can think of. Other than that, if you say a couple for anything other then two, then you aren't giving that much importance to the quantity. couple is two, three is a few, and anything more needs a definitive quality or a "several"


LOML and I have had a debate going for a while now on how many "a couple" represents. She says 2. I say 2 or more and say a couple and a few can be used interchangeably to represent a small but unknown quantity. I mean, if I knew it was 2 I would just say 2.

What do you think?


Exactly 2
2 or more
Both

[Kevin L Little]

A couple is two, hence a husband and wife are a couple.
A few can mean many, typically more than two.

[Larry Klaaren]

I once worked with someone who insisted a couple was "two" and could not be more. So I cut him off on his "couple of thoughts" after the second. :)

[Belinda Barfield]

I once worked with someone who insisted a couple was "two" and could not be more. So I cut him off on his "couple of thoughts" after the second. :)

Sort of like when someone says "I just have a couple more questions." and you know that means another 30 minutes.