less vs fewer

I was queuing in a supermarket when I saw the sign for the express aisle which read “10 items or less”. At a glance, I assumed that it was grammatically correct until I gave it much thought.

Being that the items found in the shopping trolley are all countable, the use of “less” is grammatically incorrect. This is because; less is only used for uncountable nouns like rice. For example, when you’re queuing for food and want a smaller portion, you will say “Can I have less rice please”.

Therefore, in this case, the sign should have been “10 items or fewer” due to the fact that we are able to physically count the items purchased.

Arafah