I feel like this comes up a lot. In Arabic things are spoken of in tens: tens of people at a party, tens of cars in a parking lot, tens of houses in a neighborhood.

In English – at least in the US, but I think it applies elsewhere – this sounds awkward and wrong. We use “dozens” for the same kind of general estimate.

If my say-so isn’t enough, here is a logical explanation: The Arabic here is عشرات, the plural of ten. To use the plural in Arabic means there are between three and ten of the counted object; i.e. 30-100. In English, the plural is two or more, so dozens means 24 or more. Good equivalent for an estimate, right?

Ok? Good talk.