The context is important, but I've always taken it to mean context as in count.
Out of 100, a few is more than 2, but wouldn't necessarily stop at 6-8. If the 'end' or 'total' is not known, it's just more than 2, but less than several. Several is less definitive than few, IMO, and would tend to refer to a number that might depict more than the average, or more than normal. Then you take normal into consideration, realizing that what is normal to one may not be normal to another - then it becomes contextual perception..?
I asked the same question of my brother when I was little, and he told me a few is 3 or more, but I never asked in relation to several.. lol
If nothing else, you've gotten a clear answer that there is no clear answer; my opinion is the bet is a wash-out.
I've had a few bets like that, or was it several...?
