Here's a question for you language experts - within what numerical range would we use "a few" or is "a few" mostly subjective? For example, if someone views $1000 as being "a few bucks" would that be off the mark or is there some agreed rule among educators and language experts in which "a few" implies a certain range of numbers.
When I use "a few", I mostly think of it as something small like a number less than ten or so (and for the 10 to 12 range, I'd use "a little less than a dozen" or "a dozen" respectively). But what happens when the other person thinks of "a few" as less than twenty? There lies the difficulties of communication, even at the basic level...
"Quite a few"
For me, "a few" has generally represented a number between three and five, overlapping a little with the word "couple" whose literal meaning, I take to mean two or three. I've been to Seoul a few times. (I've been there three times) For a larger number than "a few," say from seven up to a dozen, I might say "a handful."
Though if I say that I know "a few" words in German, I'm referring to a number more like 50 or 100, since those numbers are so small in comparison to how many words there are in German. Athough that's not a rule, but just another exception. Even though the number of foreigners living in Korea is a of a percent of the population of Korea, I wouldn't say that there are a few foreign teachers in Korea.
But for $1000 meaning a few bucks, I guess it depends on whether you were fed with a golden spoon or not. For anyone buying a new car, I always tell them: "As soon as you drive off the lot, you lose a few thousand bucks." I wouldn't just say "a few bucks" but my wealthier peers might have disagreed when they got brand new cars after graduation. But "a few bucks" can be a humble way to mean "a lot." The last visit to the dentist cost me a few bucks, so I didn't save any money last month.
Nonetheless, "a few" can be interpreted quite a few different ways, not just a few.
Several
Where does the word 'several' fit into the spectrum of terms that approximate quantity?
"$1000"
One thousand dollars has the qualifier or quantifier slang word "grand." It is in no way "a few bucks," however, 3, 4, 5, or 6 dollars is a few bucks. I know some very rich people and they do not think a thousand dollars is a few bucks.
One "grand"
OK, that was a pretty poor example. Maybe a drunkard with "a few" bottles of whiskey or a glutton with "a few" pastries would have been better examples.