"I COULD care less" or "I COULDN'T care less" Which is it?

How about "I couldn't stare less"?

Quote:

A lot of people over here use double negatives. I didn't do nothing, we don't have no tomatoes. Would that class as an example?

I guess it would.
Correct me if I am wrong here, but isn't that a phenomenon that comes from people of lower education? Do you not agree that it degenerates peoples understanding of the logic which is the foundation of grammar?

It means "I care to such an extend that it is possible for me to care less"

"I couldn't care less", on the other hand means "I do not care at all, it is not possible for me to care less about this because I do not care".

What the hell is a bonker????

I know not to what ignorance u refer.

What the hell is a bonker????





'I'm just organising a bonk now.'

What the hell is a bonker????

Aren't you the worldly one. And a mensan too, not to mention an ex lawyer.

I know not to what ignorance u refer.

The ignorance you show even when you are given a clear explanation of how language works. Read the whole of Professor Pullum's discussion [you have the link].

If you can't mentally digest the material, I recommend that you give up you membership in Mensa.

Thay did not teach us of "bonkers" in law school.

I already addressed it and found it to be emotion-based and devoid of merit.

I cannot be expected to accept defective reasoning

Thay did not teach us of "bonkers" in law school.

Considering that the sum total of OmSigD is what you learned in law school, [?????]
it becomes clear why you are such a shallow thinker.

I already addressed it and found it to be emotion-based and devoid of merit.

You addressed it not at all. But that's just your way.

Let me make it simple for you.

Step 1: There are phrases in English that hold meanings
that cannot be discerned from their dictionary meanings.
These are called idioms.

One such idiom is 'could care less'.

Every English speaker on the planet knows what it means when used in NaE dialects.

I've given you a number of examples where the obvious meaning
does not always hold. This particular idiom, 'could care less',
is just one more example of a phrase that has developed into
an English idiom, with its own idiomatic meaning.

I cannot be expected to accept defective reasoning

You are Mr Defective Reasoning in most everything you utter about language.

One excellent example: you maintain that English must follow the rules of math

- now that's truly defective reasoning.

In fact, there is no reasoning at all because even you, Mr Defective Reasoning, knows

that a double negative, [which actually isn't a double negative at all - but I don't
expect you to be able to grasp that [ naked ad hominem ] doesn't mean a positive.

By the same token, you also know that when someone says,
"Om, I could care less what you think", that they are suggesting that they do care what you think.

One excellent example: you maintain that English must follow the rules of math

OmSig: I certainly DO. YES!

A fully competent speaker of English knows how to work out the meaning of both 'I am unable to obtain any satisfaction' and 'I Can't Get No Satisfaction',

A person who cannot understand Mick Jagger's lyrics, even if they are written out on a sheet of paper (nobody can understand much of it when he's singing, of course, is not a better English speaker, but a worse one.

You're clearly not a competent speaker of English, Dave.

Those people then proceeded to call it an idiom in defense against people who called them idiots.

One excellent example: you maintain that English must follow the rules of math

OmSig: I certainly DO. YES!

If that was true, then it would follow for every language. It doesn't. You have been proven wrong once again.

A fully competent speaker of English knows how to work out the meaning of both 'I am unable to obtain any satisfaction' and 'I Can't Get No Satisfaction',

You're clearly not a competent speaker of English, Dave.

A person who cannot understand Mick Jagger's lyrics, even if they are written out on a sheet of paper (nobody can understand much of it when he's singing, of course, is not a better English speaker, but a worse one.

With such clear incompetence, you obviously cheated many a client.

"Could care less" is wrong. Logically it makes no sense.

Those people then proceeded to call it an idiom in defense against people who called them idiots.

The correctness of "could care less" that you are insisting on isn't a matter of grammar or logic, because when these are applied to the phrase it is blatantly obvious that it is nonsense. It's a matter of cultural dispositions and a general lack of desire to express oneself precisely and correctly.