What is OLY? Not in FAQ or Search....

[RWTL]

I can't find this by searching or in the FAQ.

What's OLY?  One....X....Year?

[Freedomin5]

One Less Year

[Metalcat]

Maybe the opposite of OMY? Maybe One Less Year?

[terran]

How about One Last Year? Like One More Year, but with the commitment that there won't be another one after that.

[Kris]

One Less Year

God, I hope not. The grammarian in me would cringe so hard...

[Loren Ver]

One Less Year

God, I hope not. The grammarian in me would cringe so hard...

Then you best be prepared for a good cringe.  That is how it is used in some of the cohort groups, if you bail out of your year to FIRE a year sooner you get listed as OLY (or 2LY, 3LY if you moved futher).

[NotJen]

I thought ‘less’ with the singular ‘year’ would be correct.  Is that not the case?

[bbates728]

I thought ‘less’ with the singular ‘year’ would be correct.  Is that not the case?

Less is used with things that can't be counted. For instance "I am less hungry than before" is correct. Fewer is the appropriate word for things that can be counted such as the number of years before I can finally frickin leave this job.

[nessness]

One Less Year

God, I hope not. The grammarian in me would cringe so hard...

According to the Chicago Manual of Style, "one less year" is correct. Although it sounds awkward to me.

https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/Usage/faq0304.html

[Clever Name]

I thought ‘less’ with the singular ‘year’ would be correct.  Is that not the case?

Less is used with things that can't be counted. For instance "I am less hungry than before" is correct. Fewer is the appropriate word for things that can be counted such as the number of years before I can finally frickin leave this job.

It's not quite that simple though. Money can be counted but you would never say something costs "fewer money" than another item.

[Metalcat]

I thought ‘less’ with the singular ‘year’ would be correct.  Is that not the case?

Less is used with things that can't be counted. For instance "I am less hungry than before" is correct. Fewer is the appropriate word for things that can be counted such as the number of years before I can finally frickin leave this job.

Buuuuut, isn't it "less" even if it's countable if it's single?

So "one less year" "two fewer years?", at least that's how I learned it APA and Chicago Manual style.

[Metalcat]

I thought ‘less’ with the singular ‘year’ would be correct.  Is that not the case?

Less is used with things that can't be counted. For instance "I am less hungry than before" is correct. Fewer is the appropriate word for things that can be counted such as the number of years before I can finally frickin leave this job.

It's not quite that simple though. Money can be counted but you would never say something costs "fewer money" than another item.

Not really. Money as a noun can't be counted. You don't have one money or two money, you always have some money, and you can have more or less, but the noun itself is not countable. Dollars are countable.

I have fewer dollars than you do, so I have less money than you do.

[NotJen]

Time and money are often different, though. Still, I think the singular rule is the one that applies.

I accept “two fewer years” as being correct.  “One fewer year” makes my ears hurt...

[Dicey]

I saw something especially egregious the other day and wondered what had happened to the grammar police. I am seriously glad to see a revival of same. Now get busy, there are huge mistakes out there. We need you!

[erutio]

In the setting where OMY is used, OFY would cause some confusion, as F is often used as shorthand for another common word in our vocabulary around here.

[dougules]

It's "One Less Year", and, "correct" or not, I think it just came from being the natural opposite to OMY.  Basically for somebody who's bailing a year earlier instead of waiting a year longer. 

[Kris]

One Less Year

God, I hope not. The grammarian in me would cringe so hard...

According to the Chicago Manual of Style, "one less year" is correct. Although it sounds awkward to me.

https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/Usage/faq0304.html

No, that's incorrect. I mean, I get that the explanation in the CMoS is unclear, but what they mean is fewer is used with countable things (one fewer, two fewer, etc.) Less is used with a "singular" in the sense that it's a noun that describes a quantity, that is not plural. As in: less milk.

So: less milk. Fewer CUPS of milk.

So: less time. Fewer years.

[RWTL]

It's "One Less Year", and, "correct" or not, I think it just came from being the natural opposite to OMY.  Basically for somebody who's bailing a year earlier instead of waiting a year longer.

Makes sense from a slang point of view.  I won't debate the grammar.   I did better in Science than English/Grammar classes.

Thanks all.  Glad we could add this to the search function.

[Buffaloski Boris]

It’s an investment term. “Oy! Less Yield!”

🤣

[nessness]

One Less Year

God, I hope not. The grammarian in me would cringe so hard...

According to the Chicago Manual of Style, "one less year" is correct. Although it sounds awkward to me.

https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/Usage/faq0304.html

No, that's incorrect. I mean, I get that the explanation in the CMoS is unclear, but what they mean is fewer is used with countable things (one fewer, two fewer, etc.) Less is used with a "singular" in the sense that it's a noun that describes a quantity, that is not plural. As in: less milk.

So: less milk. Fewer CUPS of milk.

So: less time. Fewer years.

Are you arguing that the CMOS website does not accurately represent the CMOS? Because the link I posted literally said that "less" is used for singular countable nouns.

So it's "two fewer years" but "one less year."

[Kris]

One Less Year

God, I hope not. The grammarian in me would cringe so hard...

According to the Chicago Manual of Style, "one less year" is correct. Although it sounds awkward to me.

https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/Usage/faq0304.html

No, that's incorrect. I mean, I get that the explanation in the CMoS is unclear, but what they mean is fewer is used with countable things (one fewer, two fewer, etc.) Less is used with a "singular" in the sense that it's a noun that describes a quantity, that is not plural. As in: less milk.

So: less milk. Fewer CUPS of milk.

So: less time. Fewer years.

Are you arguing that the CMOS website does not accurately represent the CMOS? Because the link I posted literally said that "less" is used for singular countable nouns.

So it's "two fewer years" but "one less year."

Huh. I stand corrected. I researched it a little more, and it appears I was taught incorrectly.

Thanks for pointing this out, and my apologies.

Sucks for me, though -- this is still going to grate on me, even though it's correct. Lol.

[bbates728]

I thought ‘less’ with the singular ‘year’ would be correct.  Is that not the case?

Less is used with things that can't be counted. For instance "I am less hungry than before" is correct. Fewer is the appropriate word for things that can be counted such as the number of years before I can finally frickin leave this job.

Buuuuut, isn't it "less" even if it's countable if it's single?

So "one less year" "two fewer years?", at least that's how I learned it APA and Chicago Manual style.

Ahh, well that makes sense. Thanks for teaching me something today!

[nessness]

One Less Year

God, I hope not. The grammarian in me would cringe so hard...

According to the Chicago Manual of Style, "one less year" is correct. Although it sounds awkward to me.

https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/Usage/faq0304.html

No, that's incorrect. I mean, I get that the explanation in the CMoS is unclear, but what they mean is fewer is used with countable things (one fewer, two fewer, etc.) Less is used with a "singular" in the sense that it's a noun that describes a quantity, that is not plural. As in: less milk.

So: less milk. Fewer CUPS of milk.

So: less time. Fewer years.

Are you arguing that the CMOS website does not accurately represent the CMOS? Because the link I posted literally said that "less" is used for singular countable nouns.

So it's "two fewer years" but "one less year."

Huh. I stand corrected. I researched it a little more, and it appears I was taught incorrectly.

Thanks for pointing this out, and my apologies.

Sucks for me, though -- this is still going to grate on me, even though it's correct. Lol.

I apologize my tone yesterday - rereading it this morning, it seems unnecessarily rude.

Maybe we should petition to change OLY to 52FW or 365FD to avoid the grating grammar. ;)

[Dicey]

^Even easier solution - just stop working.^

[ysette9]

One Less Year

God, I hope not. The grammarian in me would cringe so hard...

Interestingly I never heard a thing about countable and non-countable nouns until I was in an English class in france as an exchange student (as in, learning English as a foreign language). That is a really good way to learn about the mechanics of your own language.

[Dragonswan]

I thought ‘less’ with the singular ‘year’ would be correct.  Is that not the case?

Less is used with things that can't be counted. For instance "I am less hungry than before" is correct. Fewer is the appropriate word for things that can be counted such as the number of years before I can finally frickin leave this job.

It's not quite that simple though. Money can be counted but you would never say something costs "fewer money" than another item.

Not really. Money as a noun can't be counted. You don't have one money or two money, you always have some money, and you can have more or less, but the noun itself is not countable. Dollars are countable.

I have fewer dollars than you do, so I have less money than you do.

Pray tell, how would one use the term monies or moneys (depending on the school you attended)?

[Metalcat]

I thought ‘less’ with the singular ‘year’ would be correct.  Is that not the case?

Less is used with things that can't be counted. For instance "I am less hungry than before" is correct. Fewer is the appropriate word for things that can be counted such as the number of years before I can finally frickin leave this job.

It's not quite that simple though. Money can be counted but you would never say something costs "fewer money" than another item.

Not really. Money as a noun can't be counted. You don't have one money or two money, you always have some money, and you can have more or less, but the noun itself is not countable. Dollars are countable.

I have fewer dollars than you do, so I have less money than you do.

Pray tell, how would one use the term monies or moneys (depending on the school you attended)?

I'm not sure I understand the question. Non-countable nouns can be plural or singular, it doesn't make them countable.
I don't know every dialect of English, but I don't know any that would use monies/moneys as countable.

For example, I would never say "I have six fewer moneys than you do" to say that I have six fewer dollars.
Money/monies/moneys carries no defined incremental value.

However, "moneys" is a bit of an exception since it refers to countable sources of funds, as in "moneys from each donor", the funds themselves aren't specifically countable, but the number of donors providing the moneys are. So it's awkward, but you could argue that it's reasonable to say "we've collected six fewer moneys from donors than we expected to by the due date" because it's referring to the number of discrete sums as opposed to the actual amount of money involved.

So yes, "moneys" can be countable, but only because the object being counted is the sources, not the funds.

[nessness]

I thought ‘less’ with the singular ‘year’ would be correct.  Is that not the case?

Less is used with things that can't be counted. For instance "I am less hungry than before" is correct. Fewer is the appropriate word for things that can be counted such as the number of years before I can finally frickin leave this job.

It's not quite that simple though. Money can be counted but you would never say something costs "fewer money" than another item.

Not really. Money as a noun can't be counted. You don't have one money or two money, you always have some money, and you can have more or less, but the noun itself is not countable. Dollars are countable.

I have fewer dollars than you do, so I have less money than you do.

Pray tell, how would one use the term monies or moneys (depending on the school you attended)?

I'm not sure I understand the question. Non-countable nouns can be plural or singular, it doesn't make them countable.
I don't know every dialect of English, but I don't know any that would use monies/moneys as countable.

For example, I would never say "I have six fewer moneys than you do" to say that I have six fewer dollars.
Money/monies/moneys carries no defined incremental value.

However, "moneys" is a bit of an exception since it refers to countable sources of funds, as in "moneys from each donor", the funds themselves aren't specifically countable, but the number of donors providing the moneys are. So it's awkward, but you could argue that it's reasonable to say "we've collected six fewer moneys from donors than we expected to by the due date" because it's referring to the number of discrete sums as opposed to the actual amount of money involved.

So yes, "moneys" can be countable, but only because the object being counted is the sources, not the funds.

I am not a grammarian, but just thinking through some examples, I would argue that all pluralizable non-countable nouns becomes countable when pluralized.

For example:
My project has less difficulty now.
My project has fewer difficulties now.

There is less contaminated water than there used to be.
There are fewer contaminated waters than there used to be.

I have less sugar in my pantry.
I have fewer sugars in my pantry.

In the above examples, "difficulties" is equivalent to "sources of difficulty", "waters" to "bodies of water", and "sugars" to "types of sugar", similar to how "monies/moneys" means "sources of money."

[Dragonswan]

Yes NessNess, this is where I was going with that question. Because the problem isn't that years are not countable, but the singular form of the noun makes counting it awkward.  I think context around a singular noun is important.  As used on this forum, one less year means we started with a finite number larger than one and have subtracted from it, thus, "I can work one less year than the 15 years on which  I had planned."  In this context I think year is countable as part of an equation. You know, like those pesky word math problems.   

Not to belabor the point for the grammarians, but language evolves (and debates like this one with the logic behind it are part of how that happens) and there are formal and casual uses of language.  But yes, technically, formally OLY is incorrect.  But OLY is casual speak and here to stay.

Sorry OP, I know you weren't intending to open a can of worms, but you know how this forum likes to dissect and discuss.

[RWTL]

Sorry OP, I know you weren't intending to open a can of worms, but you know how this forum likes to dissect and discuss.

Yep.  Crazy.