When does 'a few' become 'several'?

[whiskygalore]

E.g. my boss complained today that some plans had been left on a table for a few days. I pointed out that they'd only been there for two days, which in my books, is 'a couple' of days, he classed this as 'a few' days, which led to an argument about when 'a few' becomes 'several'!

I'd say 'few' is 3-4, and becomes 'several' from there upwards.

[crisgal]

i'd say you were right!

[whiskygalore]

Yay, crisgal, have a few stars on me!

[whiffy]

A few is 3, several is also 3. That's basic English language.

[crisgal]

but definitely not 2?

[Dusty Bin]

"A few" is most commonly used when attempting to minimise the quantity,

eg. only a few, just a few

whereas "several" can be used to exaggerate the quantity when there were really only a few,

eg. that's been lying there untouched for several days

However, "a few" can be used to overstate only a couple as no definfitive quantity can be placed against the term.

A couple of days is then only a few days, so both you and your boss are right!

I rarely agree with my boss. When I'm taking a fair time to complete a task, he tells me I'm too slow. When it takes him even longer to achieve a similar job, he tells me he's being thorough!

[Quizmonster]

According to Roget's Thesaurus, few and several are synonymous, so it is not really a case of the one 'becoming' the other. What either means depends entirely on the context in which it is used.
If you asked someone for a few/several matches, you'd probably expect - and get - four or five. On the other hand, there were over three thousand Battle of Britain pilots and Churchill happily referred to them as "the few".
In other words, it's all relative. Personally, I would say either word correctly fits any number from three upwards, depending on the situation, so I'd be on your side as regards a couple, not your boss's.