I could care less

[Frank Apisa]

Obviously there are people here who COULD care less if the expression "I could care less" is correct or not.

Right?

Otherwise we wouldn't be five pages into the discussion.

 

[_Sal]

IIRC, the singular is "toofus"...

lmao....okay I'm schooled now... :lamo

toofus it is

 

[Goshin]

Obviously there are people here who COULD care less if the expression "I could care less" is correct or not.

Right?

Otherwise we wouldn't be five pages into the discussion.

Amid all the emotion-charged election stuff, it's kind of fun to bicker playfully about something we really couldn't care less about.

 

[_Sal]

Amid all the emotion-charged election stuff, it's kind of fun to bicker playfully about something we really couldn't care less about.

amenus to that :thumbs:

 

[Winchester]

I am American and people who say "I could care less" are wrong. I know what they mean, but they are wrong. Just like if you write, "Their are some things we need to discuss" I know what you are trying to say but you are still using the wrong word.

Mute point. :2razz:

 

[_Sal]

Mute point. :2razz:

:lamo

point maid

 

[Goshin]

:lamo

point maid

Maid misses.







(she got married, lol)

 

[_Sal]

Maid misses.



(she got married, lol)

not old then :2razz:

 

[Goshin]

not old then :2razz:

Ol' Miss perhaps.

 

[Skeptic Bob]

Mute point. :2razz:

 

[nota bene]

Which is correct?

"He is in hospital."

Or.......

"He is in the hospital."

I know, I know.

You could care less.

:lol:

If you're British, "in hospital" is the convention; if you're American, "in the hospital" is correct.

 

[Beaudreaux]

Perhaps the incorrect form of the expression was born in southern cultures where a degree of civility and politeness was the rule of the day. So, instead of saying, "You're LOWER than a snake's belly in a wagon rut," they say "You're AS low as a snake's belly in a wagon rut." That leaves some room for good conscience.

Not many people realize that when a sounthern good ol' boy says, "Bless yer heart." He means, "You poor ol' dumbass."

I know, I know. I've had too much coffee. Thank you for putting up with me and the good conversation.

One thing to add regarding Southern retorts - "My, my" is the Southern equivalent of "I really don't give a ****" - which is on the same lines as "I couldn't care less" being spoken as "I could care less."

You're welcome, and thank you, too.

 

[Jack Hays]

Here in New Jersey we have an interpretation that resolves all this.

We grab our crotch...and say, "I gotcha care right heah!"

Very seldom is there much in the way of scholarly considerations about the nuances of the "could" or "couldn't."

Here is a typical Jersey guy responding to this thread:

Yeah...lots of Jersey guys wear Yankee caps.

Ah yes. NJ guys in Yankee caps. Part of the unclean "bridge and tunnel crowd.":mrgreen:

 

[Jack Hays]

What follows is not a criticism, I am just curious. In the UK they say "I couldn't care less" but in the States it's "I could care less" which implies that you already care a bit which is not what the phrase is supposed to mean. Was the phrase in the States ever "I couldn't care less" and are there regions in the States where the original phrase is still used?

I believe this has been thoroughly explored. Just remember that American English is the language in which "fat chance" and "slim chance" mean the same thing.

 

[nota bene]

Why are the meanings of "flammable" and "inflammable" the same?

Why do we say "near-miss" when we mean "near-hit"?

Why are commercials suddenly using the term "fulsome" as a positive?

 

[Nilly]

Why are the meanings of "flammable" and "inflammable" the same?

Why do we say "near-miss" when we mean "near-hit"?

Why are commercials suddenly using the term "fulsome" as a positive?

why is ingenious spelt with an o but genius isn't??????

 

[nota bene]

From Wictionary:


genius

Etymology

From Latin genius ‎(“the guardian spirit of a person, spirit, inclination, wit, genius”, literally “inborn nature”), from gignō ‎(“to beget, produce”), Old Latin genō, from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵenh₁-; see genus. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/genius

ingenious

Etymology

From Middle French ingénieux, from Old French engenious, from Latin ingeniosus ‎(“endowed with good natural capacity, gifted with genius”), from ingenium ‎(“innate or natural quality, natural capacity, genius”), from in ‎(“in”) + gignere ‎(“to produce”), Old Latin genere. See also engine.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ingenious

 

[nota bene]

Why aren't "sherbet" and "sorbet" pronounced the same? For the same etymological reason: "Sherbet" descends from Persian while "sorbet" is French.

Even as a kid, because my parents insisted that I pronounce words correctly, pronouncing "sherbet" with a second "r" has made me crazy. "Everybody" says "sherbert."

<shrieking> It's "sherbet"! "BET," not "BERT"! Eeeeeeeeeek!

 

[Captain America]

Why does my itchy butt make my finger stink? :lamo

 

[nota bene]

Cause and effect, of course.