Deflating the Sharp Edge of Pedantic Intolerance

I can't remember when I last moaned about confusing 'less' with 'fewer', but I have recently spotted a remark attributed to 'Ian Martin in The Guardian': "The scarier the world becomes, the more important it is to focus on the correct use of 'less' and 'fewer'.*"

I take this to be a dig at pedants rather than the earnest cry of one.  OK by me either way. 

I've also winced at the mauling of metaphors:  But I find in an article by Alastair Campbell published in Radio Times a few years ago a reference to "an inability to deal with the pressures that life was then throwing at me".  I don't believe in chucking pressures at people, any more than skating too close to the wind.

* By the way, an advert in Radio Times not long ago promoted a robot vacuum cleaner with the slogan "Less Chores, More Life".   "Less trouble" would be OK:  less is for quantity, fewer for number.  You probably wouldn't say "Fewer trouble":  and you shouldn't say "Less chores".

Deflating the Sharp Edge of Pedantic Intolerance