'NUMBER WORDS'
A few suggestions for imprecise times
We’ve numbers for length, size, weight, volume, amount;
time, speed, and temperature. All you can count.
But when we’re not certain what’s right or a fact ...
Number-Words guide us. (They’re not quite exact.)
They help us explain what we mean (more or less).
The feeling of truth. Not a fib. A good guess.
Single means one. Half of two. You or me.
A thing by itself. A third part of three.
A couple is one more. Two. Twins. A pair.
Like glasses and socks. Shoes and gloves. Here and there.
A few can mean three (although some think it’s more).
Mostly it’s triple. (That’s one less than four.)
Several is four or more. Sometimes it’s many.
A few plus a pair, perhaps. Lots more than any.
Beyond that there’s heaps and loads. Oodles and scads.
Masses and multitudes. Squillions of tads.
The biggest is infinite. Boundless. Untold.
Too big to count. Too far to behold.
The smallest is teensy. Too tiny to find.
Too micro to measure. The ‘is it there?’ kind.
If you can, be precise. Use a number – like 10.
If you can’t, use a Number-Word. (Just now and then.)