when they really mean they couldn't care less.
if you "could care less" that means you care at least somewhat about this issue. if you "couldn't care less" then there is nothing else you could care less about.
so why do people say "i could care less"?
2007-04-26 09:39:31 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
stopped - how would you know how MY named is supposed to be spelled LOL
2007-04-26 09:45:30 · update #1
Thank you! It doesn't make sense to me either! But then again, people rarely do.
2007-04-26 09:44:07 · answer #1 · answered by Eleventy 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I would think for the same reason some people say "supposubly" when they mean "supposedly"...it's just not taking the time to think and form their words and phrases correctly.
I've found that a good whack with a ruler or similar object usually does the trick to snap them back into reality...
2007-04-26 16:52:00 · answer #2 · answered by Dr_M_VanNostrand 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Language is subject to evolutionary forces as well, though not in the sense of genetics.
"n't" as a sound (such as in "couldn't") is a minor sound, and one easily missed if the speaker speaks quickly -- it might even get mistaken as a particularly firm pause. As such, a child who grows up might belive the parent is saying "I could care less." The child would learn this phrase to have the meaning, "I don't care."
This exclusion saves the pronounciation of two phonemes, and thus a small amount of effort and time.
In usage, the two phrases have the same meaning.
2007-04-26 16:45:17 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Good question. I've always wondered myself. Ah well, I guess it's just the result of people being screwed-up. As for me, I've always said that I couldn't care less.
2007-04-26 16:44:53 · answer #4 · answered by bloody_gothbob 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I think it's just gotten shortened to could. Plus people know what you mean even if you're not saying it right, so it's become rather accepted.
2007-04-26 16:44:18 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Too stupid to know it's couldn't car less
2007-04-26 16:50:41 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
49% ignorance (they don't know any better), 51% laziness (they wouldn't care if they did), and 2% butterscotch ripple (yum).
2007-04-26 16:45:44 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Because most people are morons that pay no attention to what it is they are saying.
2007-04-26 16:48:24 · answer #8 · answered by Murazor 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Maybe they were just "careless" in their wording.
Man,I'm silly.
2007-04-26 16:54:11 · answer #9 · answered by bonsai bobby 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What a stupid question. Why don't you shove it >>
2007-04-26 16:52:53 · answer #10 · answered by Dirk Johnson 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋