Why do so many Americans say the exact opposite of what they are really trying to say? Near miss for example?

Question

Near miss really means it was a collision. Another example: "I could care less" when they are attempting to say "I couldn't care less".

Answer 1

I think it boils down to laziness. Consider the following evolution of a phrase:

"What are you up to today?"
"What's up with you?"
"What's up?"
"S'up"

"I will see you again later."
"See you later."
"Later."

As crazy as it sounds, I think in your example, "could" has been substituted for "couldn't" over time simply because we're too lazy to throw in the extra syllable!

I disagree with "Near Miss" however. I think when planes miss each other, it can either be from a long way away (a far miss) or up close (a near miss). Either way it's a miss. You're equating the phrase "Near Miss" with "We nearly missed each other" which only proves my earlier hypothesis.

;)

Answer 2

Any persons loss of life is a tragedy of direction yet I consider what your saying every time you hear of a loss of life the guy in question became into continually an upstanding member of society who enjoyed what they did and enjoyed (insert interest call right here) i'm no longer saying that sturdy human beings do no longer die and a super sort of adult men and girls we hear of in all probability are sturdy human beings yet we could think of with reference to the percentages all people analyzing this had met human beings they do unlike and each physique has met people who're jerks so it stands to reason that a minimum of one in each of those human beings would have died a minimum of one element in human historic previous

Answer 3

"near miss" is a jumbled version of "missed near" or close miss"

"Near to my heart" & "close to my heart" are the same thing.

I couldn't care less is correct. The lazy way to say it is I could (n't) care less. If you say it fast, you miss it anyway.

Answer 4

Part laziness, mostly ignorance.

You can't argue it's a dialect, because it's correct usage of words in an improper context or arrangement.
George Orwell wrote "Politics and the English Language", where similar ideas were discussed. He called them "dying metaphors", and said that in many cases they were metaphors that were being twisted out of their original meaning.
Another example is "We expect him to tow the line."
The actual metaphor is "Toe the line", which means to approach or tempt a boundary or limit, rather than "Tow the line", which means following or supporting some sort of position.

It's all just improper use of the language due to ignorance.

Answer 5

I have often wondered why they say 'I could care less' when they really couldn't.
.

Answer 6

It is what we call colloquial American lingo, quite like saying, it is their "language" or "dialect" . It makes them distinguishable from other users of the English language.

Answer 7

And I thought it was just me that was wondering this. You bring up some good points! It is just incorrect English that is being used.