Why does ‘few’ sometimes mean a lot “There’s quite a few ducks in the pond.” and sometimes a little “There’s only a few ducks in the pond.”?

Question

Why does ‘few’ sometimes mean a lot “There’s quite a few ducks in the pond.” and sometimes a little “There’s only a few ducks in the pond.”?

In: 0

Answer 1

It could be that the pond isnt supposed to have ducks in it all or that there should be many more… either way the actual amount (literally a few, lets say 3) isnt what’s being remarked upon but rather how odd it is to see that amount because there are usually zero/100