Set a lower bound for ambiguous number phrase





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Would this make sense, to say a number between 100 and 10,000?:



'Potentially hundreds of hundreds'



More specifically, if I say 'potentially hundreds of hundreds', does this mean '(potentially hundreds)*hundreds' or 'potentially (hundreds of hundreds)'? If it is the former, my initial question would be true - it is potentially hundreds, but can't be zero. If it is the latter, it would mean that there either is 10,000, or none. Are these assumptions correct, and if so, which of the two interpretations would apply?










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  • 1





    I think most people would just interpret this as an indeterminate number equivalent to "lots". If you want to be specific about the number then you, well, need to be specific; eg. "There are potentially between 100 and 10,000 items"

    – James Random
    4 hours ago






  • 2





    I would say 'potentially hundreds or thousands'. Hundreds covers 100 to 999, and thousands covers 1,000 to 10,000.

    – Michael Harvey
    4 hours ago






  • 1





    'Hundreds of hundreds' from a mathematical perspective would mean a number above 10,000 given that 100 x 100 = 10,000 and 200 x 200 = 40,000. Not really a grammatical response, but I'd be inclined to favour the response by @MichaelHarvey

    – Manhatton
    42 mins ago











  • Another suggestion: "potentially up to tens of thousands".

    – TrevorD
    25 mins ago


















0















Would this make sense, to say a number between 100 and 10,000?:



'Potentially hundreds of hundreds'



More specifically, if I say 'potentially hundreds of hundreds', does this mean '(potentially hundreds)*hundreds' or 'potentially (hundreds of hundreds)'? If it is the former, my initial question would be true - it is potentially hundreds, but can't be zero. If it is the latter, it would mean that there either is 10,000, or none. Are these assumptions correct, and if so, which of the two interpretations would apply?










share|improve this question


















  • 1





    I think most people would just interpret this as an indeterminate number equivalent to "lots". If you want to be specific about the number then you, well, need to be specific; eg. "There are potentially between 100 and 10,000 items"

    – James Random
    4 hours ago






  • 2





    I would say 'potentially hundreds or thousands'. Hundreds covers 100 to 999, and thousands covers 1,000 to 10,000.

    – Michael Harvey
    4 hours ago






  • 1





    'Hundreds of hundreds' from a mathematical perspective would mean a number above 10,000 given that 100 x 100 = 10,000 and 200 x 200 = 40,000. Not really a grammatical response, but I'd be inclined to favour the response by @MichaelHarvey

    – Manhatton
    42 mins ago











  • Another suggestion: "potentially up to tens of thousands".

    – TrevorD
    25 mins ago














0












0








0








Would this make sense, to say a number between 100 and 10,000?:



'Potentially hundreds of hundreds'



More specifically, if I say 'potentially hundreds of hundreds', does this mean '(potentially hundreds)*hundreds' or 'potentially (hundreds of hundreds)'? If it is the former, my initial question would be true - it is potentially hundreds, but can't be zero. If it is the latter, it would mean that there either is 10,000, or none. Are these assumptions correct, and if so, which of the two interpretations would apply?










share|improve this question














Would this make sense, to say a number between 100 and 10,000?:



'Potentially hundreds of hundreds'



More specifically, if I say 'potentially hundreds of hundreds', does this mean '(potentially hundreds)*hundreds' or 'potentially (hundreds of hundreds)'? If it is the former, my initial question would be true - it is potentially hundreds, but can't be zero. If it is the latter, it would mean that there either is 10,000, or none. Are these assumptions correct, and if so, which of the two interpretations would apply?







ambiguity numbers






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asked 4 hours ago









Geza KerecsenyiGeza Kerecsenyi

1032




1032








  • 1





    I think most people would just interpret this as an indeterminate number equivalent to "lots". If you want to be specific about the number then you, well, need to be specific; eg. "There are potentially between 100 and 10,000 items"

    – James Random
    4 hours ago






  • 2





    I would say 'potentially hundreds or thousands'. Hundreds covers 100 to 999, and thousands covers 1,000 to 10,000.

    – Michael Harvey
    4 hours ago






  • 1





    'Hundreds of hundreds' from a mathematical perspective would mean a number above 10,000 given that 100 x 100 = 10,000 and 200 x 200 = 40,000. Not really a grammatical response, but I'd be inclined to favour the response by @MichaelHarvey

    – Manhatton
    42 mins ago











  • Another suggestion: "potentially up to tens of thousands".

    – TrevorD
    25 mins ago














  • 1





    I think most people would just interpret this as an indeterminate number equivalent to "lots". If you want to be specific about the number then you, well, need to be specific; eg. "There are potentially between 100 and 10,000 items"

    – James Random
    4 hours ago






  • 2





    I would say 'potentially hundreds or thousands'. Hundreds covers 100 to 999, and thousands covers 1,000 to 10,000.

    – Michael Harvey
    4 hours ago






  • 1





    'Hundreds of hundreds' from a mathematical perspective would mean a number above 10,000 given that 100 x 100 = 10,000 and 200 x 200 = 40,000. Not really a grammatical response, but I'd be inclined to favour the response by @MichaelHarvey

    – Manhatton
    42 mins ago











  • Another suggestion: "potentially up to tens of thousands".

    – TrevorD
    25 mins ago








1




1





I think most people would just interpret this as an indeterminate number equivalent to "lots". If you want to be specific about the number then you, well, need to be specific; eg. "There are potentially between 100 and 10,000 items"

– James Random
4 hours ago





I think most people would just interpret this as an indeterminate number equivalent to "lots". If you want to be specific about the number then you, well, need to be specific; eg. "There are potentially between 100 and 10,000 items"

– James Random
4 hours ago




2




2





I would say 'potentially hundreds or thousands'. Hundreds covers 100 to 999, and thousands covers 1,000 to 10,000.

– Michael Harvey
4 hours ago





I would say 'potentially hundreds or thousands'. Hundreds covers 100 to 999, and thousands covers 1,000 to 10,000.

– Michael Harvey
4 hours ago




1




1





'Hundreds of hundreds' from a mathematical perspective would mean a number above 10,000 given that 100 x 100 = 10,000 and 200 x 200 = 40,000. Not really a grammatical response, but I'd be inclined to favour the response by @MichaelHarvey

– Manhatton
42 mins ago





'Hundreds of hundreds' from a mathematical perspective would mean a number above 10,000 given that 100 x 100 = 10,000 and 200 x 200 = 40,000. Not really a grammatical response, but I'd be inclined to favour the response by @MichaelHarvey

– Manhatton
42 mins ago













Another suggestion: "potentially up to tens of thousands".

– TrevorD
25 mins ago





Another suggestion: "potentially up to tens of thousands".

– TrevorD
25 mins ago










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