From time to time, people complain about our t-shirts that say “One Less Car” — complaining not about the message, or the logic, but the grammar.
“It should be One Fewer Car, or One Car Fewer” they insist. And I used to insist the same thing, as the grammar nanny would argue that less should be used for quantity, and fewer for number. (Read this post at Skyline Velo).
But research into both Merriam-Webster’s Concise Dictionary of English Usage and Webster’s Third New International Dictionary confirms that our t-shirt phrase is correct English usage.
Less has been used with quantities since the 9th Century. And Webster’s Third leads its definitions with “of a more limited number: FEWER” and provides three examples of less being used for numbers.
One other remainder in my brain, but not immediately found on the internet (except here, which discusses the distinction of count v. mass nouns), is that less is acceptable for items that number one. That is, a person can use either “one less” or “one fewer”, but should use two, three, or four fewer.
Finally, while grammarians argue about whether common usage is by definition acceptable, and I’m usually on the side of the rule-folks instead of the that’s-how-people-(ab)use-the-term folks, I would note that it’s clear to marketers that “One Less Car” is easier to say, design around, and use than “One Fewer Car.”
Next week: myriad musings about misused apostrophes. 
nice…. had no idea the things that meander through your brain…
“…less is acceptable for items that number one. That is, a person can use either “one less” or “one fewer”, but should use two, three, or four fewer.”
I stand corrected, but will continue to wear the “One Less Car” t-shirt to school on the day I teach kids when to use “less” and when to use “fewer”… : )
GF
nice research job! this is one of those rules that i hate being corrected on–no one (other than english teachers) ever says “fewer”. grammar is descriptive, not prescriptive, and if the rules of grammar do not accurately describe how people use their language, then its the rules that are wrong, not the speakers!
I am always surprised at the sites that link to mine. Thanks for the visit, and for helping beat back the arrant pedantry that infects writing.
Less refers to quantity; fewer to number. “His troubles are less than mine” means “His troubles are not so great as mine.” “His troubles are fewer than mine” means “His troubles are not so numerous as mine.” — Strunk & White. Elements of Style. New York: Macmillan. 1972.
“One less car” means a car stands in contrast to “one great car”; meaning, it’s not such a great car :}
So a correct writer would say “one fewer car.” Or punch it up a bit with a slight recast: “That’s one car down!”
“One less car” is not the opposite of “one great car” – “one lesser car” is. I agree with Evan on this one!