AFEW

Set to 10 different clues across 21 published puzzles, most often “Not many” — The New York Times, Tuesday, 12 January 2010.

4 letters

Every clue on record, most used first

Not many6 times
The New York Times — Tuesday, 12 January 2010
Some4 times
The New York Times — Thursday, 12 February 2009
Not too many2 times
The New York Times — Thursday, 5 May 2011
Three or four2 times
The New York Times — Sunday, 1 November 2009
"_____ Good Men"2 times
The New York Times — Tuesday, 20 September 1994
Two or threeonce
The New York Times — Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Rough estimateonce
The New York Times — Friday, 11 January 2008
Three or four, sayonce
The New York Times — Thursday, 16 June 2005
"We're looking for ___ good men"once
The New York Times — Monday, 17 February 1997
Quite _____ (many)once
The New York Times — Wednesday, 29 March 1995