Too few needles

Question

-We have to find at least one of these five people in the next three hours. All we know is that they are in Los Angeles.

1) -That is too few needles in the haystack for us to find any.
2) -That is too few needles in the haystack for us to find any of them.

3) -That is too few needles in the haystack to find any.
4) -That is too few needles in the haystack to find any of them.

Which of the sentences 1-4 would work in this context?

The idea is that if there were more needles to find (ie. people to find) in the haystack (ie. Los Angeles) we might have found one of them, but there are too few people in too big a place for us to be able to find any of them.

Gratefully,
Navi.

Deadrat · Accepted Answer

"A needle in a haystack" is the locution for something that is impossible to find even when you know it's there.

I think you should pick another metaphor.

Navitasan · Answer

Thank you very much Deadrat,

I see your point. The metaphor implies impossibility and there are no degrees where impossibility is concerned.

I could do away with metaphors altogether.

How about these

1) -That is too few people in such a big city for us to find any.
2) -That is too few people in such a big city for us to find any of them.

3) -That is too few people in such a big city to find any.
4) -That is too few people in such a big city to find any of them.

Gratefully,
Navi.

.

Deadrat · Answer

Don't give up on metaphors. They are a wonderful way to communicate your meaning. You're looking for some collection in which a few items no unnoticed in a larger collection Perhaps a few small song birds in grove of trees inhabited by a flock of noisy crows. Each song bird would be hard to spot ,and even their songs might drowned out by the cawing. Probably too forced and elaborate.

In any case, "too few people" is still plural, so it needs a plural verb: "There are too few."

Your thought must be incomplete because in a big city there aren't too few people to find. In fact, there are a multitude of them. If that weren't true, it wouldn't be a big city. I gather you're talking about certain kinds of people, but even when there are few people of the kind you want, it isn't impossible to locate them in a big city. Big cities have lots of ways to locate people even thought they also have lots of ways to lose track of them. So, I'm guessing you have in mind a particular situation:

There are too few people of kindness is such a big city for us to find any when we're in need of one.

Don't let me put words in your mouth. That is, my sentence might not be the one you have in mind.

Navitasan · Answer

Thank you very much Deadrat.

Your sentence is perfect.

My sentences in red were supposed to be in response to the original sentence:

-We have to find at least one of these five people in the next three hours. All we know is that they are in Los Angeles.

The fact that there are so many people in Los Angeles makes those five people hard to find. If we had a list of twenty thousand people and had to find one of them in the next three hours, maybe we could succeed. But how can you have a list of five people and expect to find one of them in three hours in such a big place as LA?

That was my idea. I don't know if I am making sense or not! It sort of made sense when I wrote it,

Gratefully,
Navi.

Deadrat · Answer

I certainly am no help, am I? Sorry for not reading for comprehension. Let me try again:

We have three hours to find at least one of our five friends in Los Angeles. That's like trying to find five needles in a haystack, slightly better odds than finding one, but still nearly impossible.

Navitasan · Answer

Thank you very much Deadrat and do not sell yourself short!
I am well-known for asking questions in a confusing way!

Gratefully,
Navi.

Too few needles

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