Virgins on the ridiculous

[undyingking]

I guess you're all probably familiar, if only by repute, with the traditional song that starts:

Four-and-twenty virgins came down from Inverness;
And when the ball was over, there were four-and-twenty less.

It will not have escaped the sharp-eyed, though, that the second line contains what some consider a grammatical solecism.

I suggest the following improved version:

Four-and-twenty virgins came down from Invermuir;
And when the ball was over, there were four-and-twenty fewer.

Alternatively:

Four-and-twenty virgins came down from Invergordon;
And when the ball was over, there were four-and-twenty more o'dem.

(although arguably that one doesn't make much sense…)

Any more for any more? I guess it doesn't necessarily have to begin with 'Inver', probably any town somewhere in the Highlands would do.

Comments

[fractalgeek.livejournal.com]

Ouch! And you went back?

I think it is one where live usage is different to the rules (and not just when being "sloppy"): Even for countables, "less" often sounds better to me, particularly for a relative comparison.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Mm, good point re relative comparison, I think in practice 'less' would be almost always be preferred there.

(Reworded because it kept coming out like a joky point about wanting less relatives. Which was not my intent, although on another occasion it might have been.)