Whenever I use the words "a few" and "several" with my son (such as in the sentence: "You have a few more minutes to play") our conversation is derailed into a lengthy discussion as to what those words actually mean- an ingenious stalling tactic. Apparently, at some point in my son's young life a teacher gave a concrete meaning to each of these words, which apparently differs from my word usage. So I turned to Webster for some help:
Few adj 2 at least some but indeterminately small in number
Many adj 1 consisting of or amounting to a large but indefinite number
Several adj 2a: more than one b more than two but fewer than many
Some adj 2a being one, a part, or an unspecified number of something named or implied b being of an unspecified amount or number
As you can see, Webster was of no help. I'm guessing my best strategy is to avoid those words altogether.
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