"I couldn't care less" - Let's set the record straight

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Alright something has been bother me for a long time. It's regarding the use of the term I couldn't care less and the misuse of the term I could care less.

Now, let's look at the intet of employing these phrases. In a discussion, you wish to throw out this saying to further emote your disregard towards the subject at hand. You don't really feel any care for this subject. If you could care less, then there are other things that you dislike more than the topic, as demonstrated in fig 1. Now, if you couldn't care less, then there isn't anything you value less of than the given idea or object, as seen in fig 2.



If you wanted to show that you really didn't care, then the wise choice would be I couldn't care less, because there isn't anything that you dislike more. Doesn't that make more sense than saying that you dislike other things more than what is at hand?

Now I hope you've all learned something here, and will refrain from using I could care less in the future, because many of you are guilty of this very error on these boards.

Have a good day.
 
Correct, and this is something that has bothered me as well. By the way I take similar issue with the phrase "try and". As in "I'm going to try and clean up this mess." If you're going to by try to clean up the mess, AND you're going to clean up the mess, then why even say you're going to try? Just say you're going to clean up the mess.

Now, if you were going to "try to" clean up the mess, that would be a different story.
 
Yes yes dan, I've heard that one too. But it differs from mine because yours is still gramatically correct and makes perfect sense. It's actually somewhat of a politeness thing, how you're not only going to wipe up the spilled apple juice, but you will really try, so that the floor will not remain sticky and unpleasant.

But caring less, then that's just plain wrong.
 
Yes yes dan, I've heard that one too. But it differs from mine because yours is still gramatically correct and makes perfect sense. It's actually somewhat of a politeness thing, how you're not only going to wipe up the spilled apple juice, but you will really try, so that the floor will not remain sticky and unpleasant.

It is gramatically correct (as is "I could care less"). However, it doesn't make any sense. If you're going to do it, it doesn't matter how hard you try - you're going to accomplish the task. People use the phrase "try and" to mean that they're going to try but they might not succeed. That's not what "try and" means, that's what "try to" means.
 
I've said I could care less to something meaning that I could care less about it but usually it's in the context that I still don't particularly care about that either. At the end of the day theres only one thing you couldn't care less about. You can't not care less about about several things. I couldn't care less is a blanket statement, it's not categorising anything, if you want to categorise it to only covering certain things you have to add to it.
 
Well said, exigeracer.

I'm also with danoff, I'm more bothered with the "try and..." statement. I've heard "I'm going to try and win tonight," which makes little sense considering you're going to try, but you're also going to win for sure?
 
My chem professor said “could care less” yesterday and I literally cringed. It’s one of those things that you never notice if you don’t know about it, but sticks out like a sore thumb if you do (same goes for subject-verb agreement – every time I hear somebody use “there’s” with a plural subject, it just arrows into my brain and distracts me from the rest of the sentence).
 
Meh, I could care less.

Like, tissue paper squeezing. Who cares if somebody squeezes the damn Charmin!

The proper use of words is more important, but not that important that it doesn't get a person's point across. Though, accuracy with words is preferred, to settle confusion, in these little instances I can overlook them, unless they irk me. Like, "alot" instead of "a lot." Then, I couldn't care more, though only as far as grammar or the use of words goes.

See, I could care less. ;)
 
At the end of the day theres only one thing you couldn't care less about. You can't not care less about about several things.

You can if you're exaggerating. Like last night, when I said that Tony Romo's second interception was the "worst pass ever".
 
My Dad once picked me up after school, which was very unusual since my Mum always did it... however, he explained that my Mum was over at friend's house, consoling her after her husband had had a serious stroke. I didn't know what a stroke was at the time, and my Dad explained that it was very serious. The man who suffered the stroke, Geoff, was a close family friend and a lovely person all round. My first reaction was to say "It couldn't have happened to a better person..." :ouch: Although taken literally, the phrase was arguably used correctly, it is usually taken to mean, "It couldn't have happened to a more fitting person" rather than the way I intended it, which was "You won't find a better person than Geoff, so it couldn't have happened to a nicer person..."
 
You can if you're exaggerating. Like last night, when I said that Tony Romo's second interception was the "worst pass ever".
Yeah but than it's nothing more than a figure of speech and that makes this whole topic pointless since figures of speech are rarely accurate. I have used couldn't more than once as a figure of speech, but since this topic seems to be about the accuracy of a statement it kind of throws the whole thing off imo.
 
Yeah but than it's nothing more than a figure of speech and that makes this whole topic pointless since figures of speech are rarely accurate.

Does that mean they shouldn't be? I think figures of speech should be accurate (at least insofar as it makes sense to be accurate).
 
They should make a point, but phrases like "that was the worst game ever", "I wouldn't touch that with a 10 foot barge pole", "I'm so hungry I could eat a cow" or even the often used "I'm starving" well are you really? None of these are going to be accurate most of the time they're used. They make a valid point, but they arn't accurate. The bottom line is 99%+ of the time you say you couldn't care less, your going to be wrong, but saying you could care less will be correct. I have nothing against using coldn't care less as a figure of speech, but to complain about people saying they could care less because it doesn't make sense is well, wrong imo when as a statement it's often far more accurate than the one they'd rather you use.
 
They should make a point, but phrases like "that was the worst game ever", "I wouldn't touch that with a 10 foot barge pole", "I'm so hungry I could eat a cow" or even the often used "I'm starving" well are you really? None of these are going to be accurate most of the time they're used. They make a valid point, but they arn't accurate.

If you meant "I'm hungry" and the phrase that conveyed that was "I far from starving", you'd take issue with it, because it doesn't convey the right thought, even if the thought is an exaggeration.

You want to convey the thought accurately, even if the thought itself isn't accurate.
 
I wouldn't let it effect you.
The confusion between affect and effect is the one that irks me the most.

Now I will sit quietly to see if someone quotes where I did it incorrectly.
 
Exaggeration or incomplete sentence, or both, "I'm starving" conveys a message. "I'm (feeling like I'm) starving."

Meh, no biggie. I could care less.
 
I feel that using the phrase "I could care less" often implies that yes you could care less, but that you don't much care about this either. So in my mind, it converys the thought just fine as both a figure of speech and as a statement.
 
In general, there's a lot of common mistakes people they tend to make. Its either laziness, or the folks hear didn't learn it right in the first place.
 
I wouldn't let it effect you.
Gaaaahhh! *Bashes head against wall*

Another big peeve of mine. Again, something that just shoots through my brain and festers there.

@ Dan: :lol:
 
In general, there's a lot of common mistakes people they tend to make. Its either laziness, or the folks hear didn't learn it right in the first place.

What if they were too lazy to learn it right in the first place?
 
Gaaaahhh! *Bashes head against wall*

Another big peeve of mine. Again, something that just shoots through my brain and festers there.

@ Dan: :lol:
Why? Theres nothing freally wrong with that statement, if it was "I won't let it affect you" then sure I could see a reason to not like it. The wouldn't implies that if he could he would not that he will.
 
Why? Theres nothing freally wrong with that statement, if it was "I won't let it affect you" then sure I could see a reason to not like it. The wouldn't implies that if he could he would not that he will.

It's the effect/affect problem. Everyone should just remember that you can affect an effect, but you can't effect an affect. I think that effectively clears things up.
 
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