Fewer boreholes or lesser boreholes?

[HannahD]

My article got rejected because of this phrase:

a fewer number of boreholes can be drilled (My original submission)
a [lesser] number of boreholes can be drilled (Editorial information)

Does that look right? It doesn't make sense to me.

[stelle]

In your sentence - lesser, not fewer. You can have fewer boreholes, or a lesser number of boreholes, but you can't have a fewer number of boreholes.

[HannahD]

Thanks! got it

[SJHillman]

Just to expand on what stelle said, because I know this is a common question and people often search the forums before posting:

"Fewer" describes quantity, whereas "lesser" describes size (smaller).

If Bob has 12 kittens and Sue has fewer kittens, then Sue has <= 11 kittens. However, if Sue has lesser kittens, then Sue could have 50 kittens that are just smaller than Bob's kittens.

The catch is that "lesser number" means the same thing as "fewer".

The antonym of "fewer" is more.
The antonym of "lesser" is greater or larger.

[stelle]

Or perhaps their kittens are about the same size, but Sue's are of a far lesser quality, personality-wise. Your example made me laugh out loud...love it!

HannahD, don't be embarrassed! We all make mistakes!