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Originally Posted by peazs
sorry, offtopic, but curious: what's this about "unique" and "couple"? i don't get it... can they be used negatively or misused?
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Well, those two words are absolute terms, meaning they can only have one meaning. For instance, 'unique' means that the subject being described is the only example of its kind. One, and only one. It is often misused by saying that "_____ is fairly unique," or "_____ is somewhat unique." There is no such thing as 'fairly unique'...something is either unique or it isn't.
The word, 'couple' means two. Not three, or four or five. Just two. For instance, people misuse 'couple' by saying, "A couple of minutes," or, "a couple of things," when they really mean to say, "few." The word, 'few' is vague...I was taught that it can be anywhere from two to seven.
This concludes your English lesson for today.
