We understand why could care less sticks in your craw: it appears to mean something rather opposed to what it purports to mean. Lucy Aikin, Memoirs, 1864 Correct Usage: Either But he goes on, and he could not care less for abuse if he were made of wood. ![]() I know many people who, if the archbishop were to be roasted, would go to get a bit of him, because he has yielded to the Catholics respecting giving children the whole Bible. 1865Īdditionally, the uncontracted form of couldn’t care less appears to have been in use since the 19th century. The Dundee Courier (Dundee, Sc.) 12 Jul. His bearing towards male acquaintances, of whom he knew little or nothing and could care less, was marked by an affectation of gushing friendliness, which overdid itself. The Morning Post (London, Eng.), 18 Jul. It is impossible that he could care less. The writer evidently has no more heart for the appreciation of Canning and his errors than Lord Palmerston himself has, and evidently cares no more about Lord Palmerston, whom he tries to praise, than we ourselves do. We have no firm opinion on any of these, but would like to point out that uses of could care less with the negation given elsewhere in the sentence have been around for a fairly long time. There have been numerous theories about why people began to drop the negative particle, including sarcasm, lack of education, and that the phrase simply sounds better when omitting the not. The Chilliwack Progress (Chilliwack, Can.), 6 Jan. He hasn’t heard from the department since. 1942Ĭould care less does not appear to have become a fixed variant until some time after this. The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, MO), 25 Jan. Faille, trying to keep the venom out of his voice. ”I couldn’t care less,” responded Miss Mond lightly. Michael Arlen, Liberty (Rye, NY), 3 Nov. Now be a good girl, Lady Quorn, and try to be sensible for a change.” ”I couldn’t care less,” said the hawklike man, “if you were Queen of the May. Hearst’s International - Cosmopolitan, May 1929 ”I couldn’t care less,” she said, “whether you come or go.” While it may indeed have come from the United Kingdom, there is clear evidence that couldn’t care less was in use prior to the 1940s.Įxasperated, she jumped up. ![]() There has been speculation that it is British in origin, and that American soldiers returning from World War II brought it to these shores. ![]() There is little doubt that couldn’t care less is the older form, although no one is certain where this came from. We do it because one is simply a variant of the other, and they are used in a synonymous manner. We define could care less and couldn’t care less on the same page, with the single definition “used to indicate that one is not at all concerned about or interested in something.” We do not put these seemingly disparate idioms on the same page in order to save space, or so that we might cause you pain.
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