Less vs. fewer

This morning, on the BBC News 24 channel, I was appalled to hear an outdoor journalist say that there were "less and less public toilets" in the UK.

I was then pleased to see studio anchor Sîan Williams equally horrified.

But -- oh the humanity -- she then had to try to explain the difference between "less" and "fewer" to people's dancing hero Bill Turnbull.


She used the following example:

"You might have drunk less beer last night, but you had fewer pints."

Still Bill was troubled. "I just don't get it!" he exclaimed.

Now, at this point, don't get me wrong: I read a lot of writings by non-professional writers, in blogland and elsewhere. The writers don't always know some of rules of the language. But people in positions of professional journalism really don't have this excuse.

Bill, here, especially for you, the dummies guide to the difference between less and fewer: SINGULAR VS. PLURAL.

Just as you don't say "I ate too much pies", you don't say "I had less pies than you."

A plural noun takes the word "fewer"; a singular takes the word "less".

C'mon Bill: don't be such a dozy prat. You're a newsreader/journalist for the BBC, for Christ's sake. You're supposed to have a reasonable command of the English language...