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"I could care less" is just as correct as "I couldn't care less". They mean exactly the same thing. Yes, I know this is illogical: how could two phrases mean t

"I could care less" is just as correct as "I couldn't care less". They mean exactly the same thing. Yes, I know this is illogical: how could two phrases mean the same thing when their literal meanings are direct opposites? But they are both idioms, and idioms do not follow that kind of strict logic. Here are a number of articles that explain this better than I could: https://www.google.com/search?q=i+could+care+less https://www.google.com/search?q=i+could+care+less

gk1 9y ago
The first result of that search confirms that it's "I couldn't care less."
- Stratoscope 9y ago
  As the other search results explain, both forms of the idiom are in common use in English today. It does little good to "correct" people for using a widely understood idiom. No one is confused about what anyone means when they say "I could care less". I do sympathize with how you feel about this. I've been in your shoes [1]: several years ago I went through Wikipedia and changed a bunch of templates that used the phrase "due to" to say "because of". You're probably aware of the rules around these, e.g. these were considered correct: "The flight was late because of bad weather." "The late flight was due to bad weather." But never: "The flight was late due to bad weather." After I edited the templates, someone reverted my change and asked me, "Mike, have you looked at a dictionary lately?" Sure enough, "due to" is now common usage and perfectly acceptable where "because of" used to be required by the rules of correct grammar. You might say my thinking was out of date due to my not keeping up with changes in the English language. But then I realized I could care less which way anyone wrote it. [1] Of course I have not literally been in your shoes! That's an idiom too, best expressed in the old joke: "Don't criticize a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes. That way, when you do criticize him, you'll be a mile away and you'll have his shoes."
xiaoma 9y ago
They're "literally" the same.
- Stratoscope 9y ago
  Best comment of the day! Figuratively speaking... You will probably like this: https://xkcd.com/1576/ https://xkcd.com/1576/ (Be sure to hover the mouse to read the tooltip...)

gk1 9y ago

The first result of that search confirms that it's "I couldn't care less."

Stratoscope 9y ago
As the other search results explain, both forms of the idiom are in common use in English today. It does little good to "correct" people for using a widely understood idiom. No one is confused about what anyone means when they say "I could care less". I do sympathize with how you feel about this. I've been in your shoes [1]: several years ago I went through Wikipedia and changed a bunch of templates that used the phrase "due to" to say "because of". You're probably aware of the rules around these, e.g. these were considered correct: "The flight was late because of bad weather." "The late flight was due to bad weather." But never: "The flight was late due to bad weather." After I edited the templates, someone reverted my change and asked me, "Mike, have you looked at a dictionary lately?" Sure enough, "due to" is now common usage and perfectly acceptable where "because of" used to be required by the rules of correct grammar. You might say my thinking was out of date due to my not keeping up with changes in the English language. But then I realized I could care less which way anyone wrote it. [1] Of course I have not literally been in your shoes! That's an idiom too, best expressed in the old joke: "Don't criticize a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes. That way, when you do criticize him, you'll be a mile away and you'll have his shoes."

xiaoma 9y ago

They're "literally" the same.

Stratoscope 9y ago
Best comment of the day! Figuratively speaking... You will probably like this: https://xkcd.com/1576/ https://xkcd.com/1576/ (Be sure to hover the mouse to read the tooltip...)