Root and meaning of the phrase 'couple two three'

I'm not even sure where and how I picked up this phrase: 'couple two three'. It basically means 'a few' but I'm curious about its origins. It almost seems similar to 'might could' in that there is unnecessary redundancy.

Solution 1:

A Google Books search for "couple two three" turns up only the instance that Henry cites in his answer. The source of that quotation is actually Pic (1971), a novella by Kerouac that is told from the perspective of a character named Pictorial Review Jackson, a black child from North Carolina. Here is a somewhat longer excerpt from the novella containing the relevant passage, for context:

[Chapter] 12. Times Square and the Mystery of Television

There was a whole lot of men standin on the corner of Eighth Avenue and Forty Second in front of a big gray bank that was closed for the night. In the middle of the road it was all tore up from constructin work, and cars bumped by over the rocky sand along the sidewalk. It was a cold night for spring, felt more like autumn weather, and a whole lot of papers blowed by in the wind and the lights shined ever'whichside and flashed in that wind like so many eyes twinklin. It was jolly, and people had to be a wee bit frisky to keep warm, so they jumped about. Me and Slim bought the hot dogs and spread some mustard on em, and strolled over to the corner to see what was goin on while they cooled a minute.

Lord, there was a couple two, three hunnerd men on one side of the street. Most of them was listenin to the speeches of the Salvation Army. Four Salvations took turns makin speeches, and while one was speakin the other three jess stood there like ever'body else lookin up and down the street to see what else was goin on.

I checked several dictionaries of African-American slang, and none of them has an entry for anything remotely resembling "couple two three"—so the wording Kerouac uses may be his own invention or it may be an intentional or accidental mangling of "couple a three," which is (or was) a common idiomatic expression in parts of the United States, according to Harold Wentworth, American Dialect Dictionary (1944):

couple or three. 2 or 3. 1930s e[astern W[est] V[irgini]a Berkeley Co[unty] Freq[uent]. 1939 w[estern] W[est] V[irgini]a Huntington Chiefly spoken. More rural than urban. Colloq[uial]. Almost invariably used. 'I saw him a couple a three weeks ago.'

There is currently no question on English Language & Usage on the origin of "a couple or three"/"a couple a three," but I hope to write up a question (and answer) on that topic in the near future.

Solution 2:

I found more uses of "couple, two, three" or even "couple-two-three" in newspaper archives, mostly in quotations, suggesting the possibility of an idiomatic sense.

"She's 80 years old," he said. "I know nothing would happen to her. I talk to my mother every couple, two, three days."

• 1974 - Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY) 9 March 2B/1

We get a couple, two, three (like complaints) a year," he said.

• 1995 - The Post-Star (Glens Falls, NY) 30 Sep. B9/3

The most convincing citations I found that suggest an idiomatic sense are these two clippings that hyphenate all the words together.

You'll notice a lot between Frenchy's and the Palm Pavilion. If it's full, there are a couple-two-three hidden lots that the locals know about.

• 2003 - Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, FL) 2 March 85/3

"That was my cue to make myself scarce for about half an hour. Used to happen couple-two-three times a week."

• 1969 - The Fresno Bee The Republican (Fresno, CA) 28 Apr. 20/1

I have no conclusion as to the origins of the phrase, if it is indeed an idiomatic phrase. Newspapers.com shows a large number of hits in Pennsylvania and New York, but that could be a result of the publications included in their corpus or misreadings of classified ads for couples seeking two or three rooms.

Solution 3:

I can confirm that this phrase was very common in and around Scranton, PA. I don't recall seeing it in text, but growing up, I had always believed that it was "a couple to three." That would make more logical sense, as it would literally mean "2-3".