COUPLE
(n.) refers to a pair - generally, two people who are married, engaged, or in a romantic relationship.
Eg. The young couple fell in love at first sight.
COUPLE OF
(n.) two or a few things that are similar or the same, or two or a few people who are in some way connected, a pair
Eg. He managed to get a couple of hours of sleep.
We should use the phrase a "couple of" when we are meaning to express a grouping of roughly two or three (or more), as opposed to "couple" which only conveys a pair or only two.
We use a "couple of" very consistently to how we use a "few of".
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