[Idiom] what's one less?

[hhtt21]

When you are not buys, would you please help me understand this? This is from fantastic literature.


Context: The person might kill the gargoyle, and gargoyle wants help. Then satir responds in the following way.


Content: "Tell me how to undo it.” He curses at me, and I lower him just a bit, till the flames lick at his legs. “Tell me or I shall drop you in!” The gargoyle calls out to his friends for help, but the satyr only laughs. “Proceed. What’s one less gargoyle in the world? It should prove most amusing.”


Question: Would you please explain the meaning and grammar of "What's one less" as used here? What kind of a question form or question way is "What is"? Is the construction "What's + number + less"?


Source: A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle #1) Page 98 - Read Novels Online


Thank you.

 

[Rover_KE]

When you are not busy, would you please help me understand this? It is from a fantasy novel.


Context: The person might kill the gargoyle, and the gargoyle wants help. Then the satyr responds in the following way:

...

...

Source: A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle #1) Page 98 - Read Novels Online


[STRIKE]Thank you[/STRIKE] Unnecessary. You have that in your signature line, and that's unnecessary, too. Just click 'Thank' after you get a reply.

You'll get a reply to your question later. Please note my amendments. You could have corrected some of the errors yourself if you had checked your text before posting (and also after posting while you still have the chance to edit it.

 

[emsr2d2]

There's no need to open with "When you're not busy". It's redundant. If we were busy, we wouldn't be on the forum!

 

[jutfrank]

What’s one less gargoyle in the world?

The satyr is saying that if he kills the gargoyle, it won't be a big deal because there are lots of other gargoyles in the world, and besides, gargoyles don't add much value to the world anyway. In other words, the gargoyle is unimportant enough that it won't matter if he dies.