Few is not the same as a few

Picture: Vector Fine Art

They were the few, so named in Churchill's immortal 1940 speech during the Battle of Britain. The few were the RAF Fighter pilots who stood between England and the Nazi air force that was attempting to obliterate London with bombs. 

"Never," said Churchill, "was so much owed by by so many to so few." The few stood for exclusiveness. After this speech, the fighter pilots of RAF became known as "the few."

In the book title (left), the phrase is set off by quotation marks. It implies the bravery of the few as they defended the many against the onslaught of bombing that went on for many months. While the few fought and died in the skies, the many, the people of London, huddled in Anderson shelters and Underground stations.

All that happened a long time ago. Still, on a recent trip to London, I met a few people who remembered the blitz. Most were children at the time. (In this sentence, a few means a small number, some)

In contrast, few as used in the special expression the few emphasizes the smallness of the numbers. Huge numbers of RAF pilots were killed in combat in the air or shot down; few (a very small number) lasted longer than a few (some) weeks or months.