"-less" means "less than"? Or "lacking"?

[Erik Hoover]

I'd say this is an example of careless rather than careful wit.

Erik

On May 31, 2005, at 12:16 PM, Dennigan, Darcie wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Dennigan, Darcie" <dennigd at CAMPBELLHALL.ORG>
> Subject:      "-less" means "less than"? Or "lacking"?
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> I recently bought "stainless steel" forks and knives from Crate and =
> Barrel.
> The product description (included inside the box, not posted outside) =
> read
> "Will It Stain?
> Yes. The name says it all. It's stain-less steel, not stain-free
> steel! =
> Nevertheless, it will stain much less than other steels: silver,
> bronze, =
> etc. With proper care, staining can be minimized or eliminated."
> =20
> Is this anything more than the manufacturer's careful wit? I wondered
> if =