"one of the only" vs. "one of the few"

[bbeeton]

Since "only" implies uniqueness, "one of the only" doesn't make sense.
What's wrong with "one of the few", which still implies a very small candidate pool?

Or am I just becoming an old fuddy-duddy?

[Audiendus]

We can say: "Elizabeth II was one of (the) only three monarchs in history to reign for 70 years or more". So I think it is OK to drop the "three" and say "one of the only monarchs". "One of the few monarchs" would be too weak.

[bbeeton]

But "one of only three" is so much more precise and informative ... why not just drop the "the"? Oh, I know, relevance. (Creeps back into fuddy-duddy corner.)