# 10 motherfucking items or less! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 23, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713 "2008-01-23T20:40:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/1 "2008-01-23T20:40:12Z")
Look, I know I’m an over-analytical hand-wringer who takes 15 minutes to pick out a clock radio, but the fucking sign says 10 items or less in the fucking express lane and you’re buying enough groceries to feed a small army of crying brats like the one in your cart trying to destroy everything in arm’s reach. You are angering the gods of Target! And don’t think they don’t know! They’ve got cameras everywhere. And why that hapless little woman behind the register didn’t throw you out of the line to stew in your own private little too-many-item hellzone, I will never know. ---
**Author:** ![jacquilynne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jacquilynne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacquilynne)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/2 "2008-01-23T20:44:27Z")
I’m with you on this one. As long as your Target isn’t like my Dominion, where at certain times of the day, only the express lane is open. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/3 "2008-01-23T20:48:28Z")
The limit is more what you’d call a “guideline” than an actual rule. Every Target I’ve been to has so many checkout lines they don’t really need a fast lane. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/4 "2008-01-23T20:55:33Z")
FEWER! Ten items or FEWER. \ I feel better now. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/5 "2008-01-23T20:56:56Z")
Question: If I have 12 items but three of them are identical cans of soup (for example), is that 12 items or 10? ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/6 "2008-01-23T20:58:28Z")
I was once chastised by the clerk for having too much stuff at a 15 items or less line. My question was - if you have 5 loose apples, is that one item or five? What if you put them in a bag (bad for the enviroment)? What about a bag of Cheerios? I try to honor the spirit of the line, but if I have put a number of items in a basket, I may not know how many there are, and I do not want to crush stuff by rooting around and counting. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/7 "2008-01-23T21:04:22Z")
[QUOTE=Gangster Octopus] Question: If I have 12 items but three of them are identical cans of soup (for example), is that 12 items or 10? [/QUOTE] That’s 12! **eyes narrowing** I’m watching you! ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/8 "2008-01-23T21:06:35Z")
If they are not connected (by a bag, tie, string or box) they are separate. THis bugs the crap out of me and I always make a point of saying something since the checkers arenot allowed to do anything under penalty of termination. When I’m at the Target in the rich neighborhood I usually will ask the cashier “Isn’t it amazing how people can be so wealthy as to live around here but not be able to read a sign” or " I wish I was so important that I could just ignore the rules of common decency". If I’m in a particularly bad mood I will just ask the person directly why they are in the line when it is clear they should not be. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/9 "2008-01-23T21:11:38Z")
Is this the 10 responses or less thread? It is? Oh thank goodness. ---
**Author:** ![Faruiza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@Faruiza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Faruiza)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/10 "2008-01-23T21:13:57Z")
[QUOTE=Autolycus] Is this the 10 responses or less thread? It is? Oh thank goodness. [/QUOTE] TEN OR FEWER, MOTHERFUCKER!! TEN OR FEWER!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/11 "2008-01-23T21:14:42Z")
[QUOTE=Gangster Octopus] Question: If I have 12 items but three of them are identical cans of soup (for example), is that 12 items or 10? [/QUOTE] Don’t try to game the system! To the hellzone with you! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/12 "2008-01-23T21:15:55Z")
[QUOTE=Mikemike2] I try to honor the spirit of the line, but if I have put a number of items in a basket, I may not know how many there are, and I do not want to crush stuff by rooting around and counting. [/QUOTE] \ If you have to root, you have too many. \ ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/13 "2008-01-23T21:17:49Z")
[QUOTE=Mikemike2] if I have put a number of items in a basket, I may not know how many there are [/QUOTE] In that case, use the line where they don’t care how many items you have. > [@](#): > > My question was - if you have 5 loose apples, is that one item or five? What if you put them in a bag (bad for the enviroment)? What about a bag of Cheerios? I would say it depends on how the items are priced. If they’re priced per item, each item counts separately. If apples are $.50 each, five apples are five items. If they’re priced by weight, they’re all one item. If apples are $1 per pound, five apples is one item. But if you’re getting them counted as one item, you do have an obligation to make sure they all get to the checker at the same time, either by putting them in a bag or putting them together on the checkout counter. If you can’t be bothered to do that, they’re separate items. ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/14 "2008-01-23T21:28:20Z")
[QUOTE=Anne Neville] If they’re priced by weight, they’re all one item. If apples are $1 per pound, five apples is one item. But if you’re getting them counted as one item, you do have an obligation to make sure they all get to the checker at the same time, either by putting them in a bag or putting them together on the checkout counter. If you can’t be bothered to do that, they’re separate items. [/QUOTE] Can someone point me to the official list of rules, particularly for Safeway? 🆒 I just wish they had more tellers as I get groceries almost everyday and the lineups have been getting much longer. Although I am actually quite careful not to have too many items, I have long lived by the thought that “I do not line up to pay money to businesses.” So that can mean changing stores or grumbling a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/15 "2008-01-23T21:35:02Z")
I’m sick of these motherfuckin’ items on this motherfuckin’ treadmill! ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/16 "2008-01-23T21:40:10Z")
“10 items or less” [is fine](http://www.theslot.com/than.html). (So is “10 items or fewer”.) I was recently in a store – and I can’t remember which one – that had a lane marked “around 10 items,” which I thought was an elegant compromise, both from an English usage standpoint and from an “I counted 11 items in your basket” standpoint. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/17 "2008-01-23T21:44:07Z")
Can we pit the companies that don’t bother to enforce it as well? Would it be so terrible to let the staff say “I’m sorry sir, but this is the 10 items or fewer line. I can’t serve you here.” ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/18 "2008-01-23T21:46:35Z")
If I find myself in line behind someone who is obviously abusing the express lane, and the checker does nothing about it, I will sometimes start loudly counting each time the scanner beeps. …17…18…19…20…21… Yes, I can be a jerk sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/19 "2008-01-23T21:53:10Z")
[QUOTE=AngelicGemma] Can we pit the companies that don’t bother to enforce it as well? Would it be so terrible to let the staff say “I’m sorry sir, but this is the 10 items or fewer line. I can’t serve you here.” [/QUOTE] I totally enforced it at my first job, but at Kmart, it was like the above-we weren’t allowed to enforce it. And the sucky part was that the express lane didn’t have the extra long counter. Fucking customers. Loose apples don’t count as they’ll most likely be weighed together. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713/20 "2008-01-23T21:56:11Z")
[QUOTE=FatBaldGuy] If I find myself in line behind someone who is obviously abusing the express lane, and the checker does nothing about it, I will sometimes start loudly counting each time the scanner beeps. …17…18…19…20…21… Yes, I can be a jerk sometimes. [/QUOTE] I was once in front of someone who sarcastically said, “Gee, I thought this was the EXPRESS lane,” and I loudly counted out each item as I put it up to be scanned. I had one less than the limit, which was 15. Works both ways. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-motherfucking-items-or-less/434713.md?page=2)