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> And, if you saying "there's beer in the cup" was understood by everyone as meaning "there's no more beer in the cup", professional linguists and dictionaries
by xdavidliu 6y ago
> And, if you saying "there's beer in the cup" was understood by everyone as meaning "there's no more beer in the cup", professional linguists and dictionaries would be A-OK with that interpretation.
The fact that "I could care less" is now clearly understood is not intentional. It's an adaptation to a mistake. It's similar to how people say "irregardless", which is clearly an error. It's unambiguous, and everyone knows what you mean. It's still a mistake, and using "regardless" is strictly better.
- zimpenfish 6y ago> is not intentional. It's an adaptation to a mistake. Yes, that's what language is. Will you be complaining about "apron" as an adaptation to a mistake? https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/how-a-napron-became-an-apron https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/how-a-na... > It's similar to how people say "irregardless", which is clearly an error. It's an error that's been being made since 1795, though, and people have been understanding it which pretty much qualifies it as being incorporated into the language. (I should note that I am strongly descriptivist and think that prescriptivists are silly people.) > using "regardless" is strictly better. I think "regardless" is better, yes, because it's a lot easier to say but that's just my opinion, not a Gilt Edged Rule Of English.