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A few is usually more than two (two often being referred to as "a couple of"), and less than "several". Few emphasises smallness of number, while a few emphasises some:

He's a dull man with few ideas vs. He's a clever man with a few ideas.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/few#Usage_notes

However, the following excerpt is contradictory

A couple of is different from a few in that it does not imply that the relevant amount is relatively small. One might say admiringly of an exceptional center fielder that he can throw the ball a couple of hundred feet, but not, except ironically, a few hundred feet, which would suggest that such a throw was unremarkable.

http://odict.net/couple/

Similarly contradictory is the idiom not a few, which actually means "not few"

FEW (determiner) 8. not a few (informal) ⇒ quite a few, several.

https://www.wordreference.com/definition/few

I hope somebody can help me clarify this whole issue: why does he can throw the ball a few hundred feet suggest that such a throw was unremarkable?

I know "He can throw it few hundred feet" is not grammatical, unlike "He can throw it few feet (off/away/etc.)"

Also, you need a if it's preceded by only, as in I ate only a few apples and a little soup.

GJC
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    I think you would think it a serious matter to fall a few hundred feet from a cliff. – Michael Harvey Aug 01 '21 at 10:34
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    What @DW256 said. Where is the actual question? Note that exactly the same switch from negative to positive polarity occurs when we preface *little* with the indefinite article. Thus, I have little* money* means I'm poor, with the strong implication that *the little money* I have isn't really sufficient for my needs. But I have a little* money* strongly implies that *I have enough* money (or at least, a useful/significant amount of money). – FumbleFingers Aug 01 '21 at 11:17
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    (So obviously the article is important if I want to point out that I gave *a* little thought to my previous comment! :) – FumbleFingers Aug 01 '21 at 11:23
  • Few is opposed to many, so a few miles is not far, but many miles is a long way. The actual ranges of numbers would depend on your mode of transport. A couple is two (approximately when you are measuring and not counting), with no implication about whether it is a large or small distance. – Peter Aug 01 '21 at 12:14
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    Why does he can throw the ball a few hundred feet suggest that such a throw was unremarkable? Without further context, it doesn't; that source is incorrect. If you insert only, you can make it unremarkable. – Tinfoil Hat Aug 01 '21 at 16:06
  • You suggest that "He can throw it few feet (off/away/etc.)" is grammatical - not sure, but in any case such a use of "few" is very awkward and uncommon - i.e. "few" (without an article) before a unit of measure. Instead of saying "This box weighs few pounds" most would say "This box only weighs a few pounds" or something similar. – cruthers Aug 01 '21 at 23:39

1 Answers1

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The problem is that the quantifiers few and a few are idiomatic, and opposed.

  • few (no article) is a negative trigger; it licenses NPIs like ever: Few ever visit his birthplace.
  • a few does not license NPIs: *A few ever visit his birthplace

Both quantifiers refer to small integers, but few is a maximum and refers to the smallness of the integer, while a few is a minimum, not a maximum.

Where there are a few, there may be more; but where there are few, there may be even fewer.

John Lawler
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