I got too busy editing over the winter to think of writing about editing. But I'll throw out a question in case anyone's still listening.
Which is most: "a few people" or "several people"?
I would have said that "several" is the smaller group (two to four, maybe) and "a few" the larger (say, five to a dozen). Stylebooks have surprisingly little to say about this matter, and the only reference I found tells me I'm flat wrong. "A few" is fewer than "several." Can this be?
Am also finding some authors with an aversion to "allow," as in "doing this allows you more creative freedom." Can anything be wrong with "allow" in this sense? As you can see, I'm afflicted with self-doubt today (a rare affliction).
It's not editing, but Karen and I came back from the Outer Banks with a new favorite fast-food place: "Bob's Cafe: Eat and Get the Hell Out." And I enjoyed the attendant on the flight home. First she said, "Please do not leave your seat back in a reclining position, or any other position in which you could possibly be comfortable." Then as we got ready to leave the plane she announced, "You should refrain from smoking until you reach the arrival lounge, or for the rest of your life."
Okay, I'm started again. And Colin is designing a web site for me, into which Editorland will eventually be folded.
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About Me
- Bill
- Twenty-five years as a working editor/reporter, about the same as a college journalism teacher. Now freelance editing on topics ranging from computers to rain forests.
1 comments:
I always thought of it this way:
"A couple" is 2.
"A few" is 3, maybe 4.
"Several" is 4 to 6.
As to allow, in that context I'd be tempted to prefer "provides". Allow suggests that someone (or something) would otherwise prevent you from having this creative freedom, whereas in this context it's usually a case of an alternative making it easier to be creative.
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