Gang Of Less Than Four

[Gangster Octopus]

Shirley Williams joins Roy Jenkins again...

[Benjm]

She always was renowned for being late so in a way nothing has changed.

[pebblethefish]

"Fewer than", surely?

[Benjm]

I blame the Secretary of State for Education from 1976-79.

[Satchmo Distel]

Billy Bragg earworm.

[Jah Womble]

She Died Peacefully.

[Gangster Octopus]

"Fewer than", surely?

Actually, I should've gone with Gang Of Two, but couldn't remember if Bill Who was still alive. Apparently he is...

[Sporting]

"Fewer than", surely?

" less used of things that are countable is standard in many contexts, and in fact is more likely than fewer in a few common constructions, especially ones involving distances (as in "less than three miles"), sums of money (as in "less than twenty dollars"), units of time and weight (as in "less than five years" and "less than ten ounces"), and statistical enumerations (as in "less than 50,000 people")—all things which are often thought of as amounts rather than numbers"

https://www.merriam-webster.com/word...less%20time%22).

[Capybara]

I want to go to the toilet.

[Jah Womble]

(^I think it was ‘bathroom’ but good reference.)

[treibeis]

(^I think it was ‘bathroom’ but good reference.)

No, it was "toilet". If it's the same reference ("... she looks like a ... bat!").

[Jah Womble]

Are we talking Alexei Sayle here? If so, it was absolutely ‘bathwoooom!’ when I saw him perform it live. (And ‘I want to vomit, excuse me!’ in the previous chorus.)

But maybe we aren’t.

[treibeis]

Are we talking Alexei Sayle here? If so, it was absolutely ‘bathwoooom!’ when I saw him perform it live. (And ‘I want to vomit, excuse me!’ in the previous chorus.)

But maybe we aren’t.

Yes, but I only had the record.

I'm not going to google it, but it was definitely something with "half a pound of muesli", "I want to go to the toilet" and "What do you think of Shirley Williams? She looks like a BAT!"

[Satchmo Distel]

All four reached the age of 80 - Bill Rodgers is still going at 92 despite having a stroke in 2001. I think Owen's reputation has suffered the most down the years - Roy Jenkins still gets credit points for his liberal social reforms of the 60s (recently discussed on the Labour thread). Williams might be one of the longest running Question Time panelists and continued to contribute to politics after the SDP fucked off.

[hobbes]

The only thing I remember about Shirley Williams is that a programme (which could have been Dave Allen) pointed out that an anagram of her name is "I Whirl Aimlessly"
I was about 8 I think.

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

I think Owen's reputation has suffered the most down the years

Well, his support for Brexit certainly didn't help in my book, to put it mildly.

[Jah Womble]

Yes, but I only had the record.

I'm not going to google it, but it was definitely something with "half a pound of muesli", "I want to go to the toilet" and "What do you think of Shirley Williams? She looks like a BAT!"

I think the ‘...vomit, excuse me!’ part was supposed to rhyme with ‘muesli’ and thereafter it kind of went a bit off-piste. Likely differs in various versions.

That reminds me of a crap joke of mine from years ago: ‘Q: How could you tell the main members of Squeeze apart? A: Chris differed.

Which, when you think about it, doesn’t even make sense.

[Nocturnal Submission]

Shirl the Pearl.

She was one of the few politicians I'd listen to knowing that she'd usually admit error if necessary, give credit to an opponent if required and try to respond to a question honestly and without obfuscation.

RIP

[treibeis]

I think the ‘...vomit, excuse me!’ part was supposed to rhyme with ‘muesli’ and thereafter it kind of went a bit off-piste. Likely differs in various versions.

That reminds me of a crap joke of mine from years ago: ‘Q: How could you tell the main members of Squeeze apart? A: Chris differed.

Which, when you think about it, doesn’t even make sense.

I've done this before, but:

What do Killing Joke and four roadies order in a cafe?

Eight teas.

But they wouldn't, though. At least one would want coffee.

[DCI Harry Batt]

" less used of things that are countable is standard in many contexts, and in fact is more likely than fewer in a few common constructions, especially ones involving distances (as in "less than three miles"), sums of money (as in "less than twenty dollars"), units of time and weight (as in "less than five years" and "less than ten ounces"), and statistical enumerations (as in "less than 50,000 people")—all things which are often thought of as amounts rather than numbers"

https://www.merriam-webster.com/word...less%20time%22).

Well now. I'm not a big fan of that explanation. "Less than five years" doesn't mean the same as "fewer than five years". The latter isn't likely to be used particularly commonly, meaning as it does "a whole number of years, lower than five". So pretty niche. The latter means "a period of time shorter than five years", and given that that's what you're much more likely to mean, you should use that.

"Less than four" here clearly relates to a whole number lower than four. So "fewer than" does describe what's meant, and if you're one to use "fewer", then you'd be using it here.

Of course it doesn't matter, and "less" works fine pretty much every time, whereas "fewer" doesn't. So "fewer" is used much less.

[ad hoc]

Shirley Williams was the one person who encouraged my Liberal mother to vote Labour. Because for a while we lived in her constituency (North Herts) and my mum thought she was the bees knees. Once we moved to South Cambs, where we had to end up with a fucking shitty Tory but the Liberal candidate was the one most likely to come second, she went back to her old ways

[jwdd27]

All four reached the age of 80 - Bill Rodgers is still going at 92 despite having a stroke in 2001. I think Owen's reputation has suffered the most down the years - Roy Jenkins still gets credit points for his liberal social reforms of the 60s (recently discussed on the Labour thread). Williams might be one of the longest running Question Time panelists and continued to contribute to politics after the SDP fucked off.

By my rudimentary reckoning, only Owen, Rodgers and Roy Hattersley remain from Callaghan's 1979 cabinet.

My paternal , true blue Tory grandmother once scandalised/amused her visiting grandchildren in 1982 by loudly calling Shirley Williams a "silly bitch" when she appeared on the television, so it became a family joke to also shout it out whenever she reappeared. Unfairly. RIP.

[San Bernardhinault]

$19.95 is less than $20 but not fewer than $20. $19 is less than $20 and also fewer than $20. 2 people is fewer than 4 people, but not less than 4 people unless the people are being dismembered and slowly fed into a sausage making machine.

[DCI Harry Batt]

Shirley Williams was the one person who encouraged my Liberal mother to vote Labour. Because for a while we lived in her constituency (North Herts) and my mum thought she was the bees knees. Once we moved to South Cambs, where we had to end up with a fucking shitty Tory but the Liberal candidate was the one most likely to come second, she went back to her old ways

Whereas having David Owen as the Labour candidate had my parents voting Liberal for the only time in their lives.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

$19.95 is less than $20 but not fewer than $20. $19 is less than $20 and also fewer than $20. 2 people is fewer than 4 people, but not less than 4 people unless the people are being dismembered and slowly fed into a sausage making machine.

But then the four joined up with David Steel, who was about 0.85 at most.