Less v fewer

[Q2C4]

I've just seen an advert for Eucerin which states that 95% of subjects in a trial of their product "reported less wrinkles." I am sure they spend a fortune on advertising so it's depressing that they can't divert some of that budget to a proof reader. I find it off-putting; if I can't trust their use of the English language, can i trust them with my skin?!

This is my particular bug bear! If only fewer people made this mistake, I would have less to complain of!

This one drives me nuts too, lol.

Me too. We correct it so often that even the DC have started correcting the TV people now.

Few/lesser mishaps drive me potty! For me, they clang as badly as if someone said "I wented to the shops". The trouble is nobody else seems to hear it and will happily use less in place of fewer (never wrong in the other direction though!), possibly to the point it's become accepted use? I fear it's just us not keeping up with the evolution of language. Still, i've made sure my children are clear on the difference so that there's someone to carry on the pedantary!

Stick with it @Dannexe . We did the same with our DC and they are now fully fledged adult pedants. One is even a teacher.

I don't like it when they get used interchangeably

My bugbear was in a supermarket where there was a sign asking customers to use less plastic bags, and of course my first though was that if you want your bags to be less plastic, then that's your action not the customers!

While less/fewer used incorrectly irritates me, I think that is not the real issue in that sentence. What should have been used is "reported less pronounced wrinkles", as nothing will eliminate wrinkle, although it is possible to make them appear less pronounced.

My favourite!

I've given up correcting people (except in my head, where I shout FEWER FFS).

I listened to an episode of R4 prog "More or less" where they discussed whether the prog should be called "more or fewer" and the grammarian they had on said that less has usurped fewer in modern language and to stop worrying about it.

www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/fewer-vs-less

And Webster's has a take on it too.