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

At this point you guys might get more out of putting on some boxing gloves....

Its not worth it. I don 't wanna fight with a crazy man.





David

But you are already fighting...
But I don't think JTT is crazy. I think his opinions of language are based on different aspects of it than my own. I argued from a standpoint of grammatical and logical linguistic functions, while he argued from a standpoint of cultural and social influences. When I realized this I understood that our discussion had become as resolved as we can hope it to become, so I see no further need to discuss it.

Hopefully, JTT we will argue again, over other issues.

I have found his mental processes to be hopelessly disorganized.

My impression is that this is fairly common, perhaps so common that it is the norm. Can't call that crazy..

"I could care less" reminds the listener of your human compassion as an American. You are essentially telling him or her, "as you can tell from my clearly stated opinion, I do not care very much at all about this subject I am referring to. However, let us never forget that--if I wanted to--I could care even less." As we are sometimes prone to speak in hyperbole, e.g. "people who park crooked like that should be disembowelled and set on fire" (when a jail term would obviously suffice, given the spectre of rape), "I could care less" is an institutional phrase that compels us to remember our power must be tempered with mercy, which is expressed in the form of restrained indifference. Just as there is no real limit to justice/revenge beyond the constructs of liberal rhetoric, apathy is an abyss that must be skirted prudently. Without care, one could, without realizing it, become so indifferent to a subject that he or she neglects to even opine about it. On a large scale, this would threaten the core dynamic of what it is to be American: the unstoppable force of limitless guidance checked only by the immovable object of absolute unreceptivity to the guidance of others. "I could care less" is an enshrinement of self-discipline.

"I could care less but will not, for to care any less would render this subject unworthy of my spoken opinion."
--George Washington

http://able2know.org/topic/199238-5#post-5142919
Post: # 5,142,919

H2oman:




No less an American than Parados has used this completely natural collocation, found in bold, above.

jtt wrote:

OmSig replied:

Google Advance Search - Exact Phrase - US region only

"you are really thick"

About 491,000 results

-------------------

You are a dictionary definition of 'ignorant' when it comes to describing how language is used, Dave. But keeping parading your ignorance on these pages. It can be highly instructive to second language learners to see that native speakers do no have a good grasp of the workings of the very language they speak.

a personal favourite of mine, and i have no idea where it comes from, is "i couldn't give a flying rats arse".

but you probably COULDN'T care less.

I could care less which one you use...or that using the one you don't bothers you. Said another way: For me it is six of one, a dozen of the other.

(Hey, if it gets Kicky back!)

Congratulations, Frank, on your thoughtful and accurate portrayal of language.

A highly intelligent gentleman, at,

http://able2know.org/topic/212731-3#post-5309904

Some time ago, I saw 2 winged insects connected
together on a table outside. I brushed them off n thay
flew away, still joined. I think that thay gave a flying ****.

It's not as if the person who says "I could care less" when he intended to communicate the message that he "could not care less" is "wrong" because he has violated some linguistic rule. It's simply because he is uttering the opposite of what he intends. He isn't listening to himself adequately.

Speaking of people not listening adequately, JLN.

Re: Frank Apisa (Post 5357072)
Quote:



See, Frank, [see Fresco, McTag, Setanta, Clary, ... ] people acting in natural language situations don't follow silly prescriptions for the simple reason that prescriptions are "alien to the natural workings of language.



http://able2know.org/topic/214762-65#post-5357072

I couldn't care less about that.

And that's a wonderful thing, Frank, because you are below woefully inadequate when it comes to making pronouncements on language issues. But I noticed that you are adequate when it comes to using language - "I could care less what you do" and of course, the above, which is also dandy.

Have you ever apologized to H20man for ragging on him for his perfectly natural language use?

He shows a poor understanding of competent reasoning.
That makes him look bad.
If I want staff who will make mistakes in logic on-the-job,
then I 'll hire him !



Yes; agreed.
He is just mentally sloppy, and it leaks out his mouth.
If I had a surgeon who represented himself that way,
I 'd find someone more trustworthy to do his job.

When I was hiring personnel (professional and support staff)
for my law firm, in another century, I judged them by how well
thay spoke, among other criteria. I wanted staff who were
meticulously precise in their mental operations.
There was an ABUNDANT pool of labor available.
I took the best of the best candidates and we paid them decent salaries.





David

Talking about things that make a body look like a mental incompetent, Dave. This spiel has spewed from your mouth a number of times, virtually word for word.

You're like an automaton.

Of course, people like you, and JLNobody and other unthinking prescriptivists, have to rely on these silly little canned speeches about language because so often they are simple repeats stolen from another prescriptive language dolt.

Region Phibus just posted copied another the other day in the Peeves thread about 'literally'.

But make no mistake, Om, I give you full credit for your personal oft repeated lunacies.