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The whole point of stock phrases, idioms, expressions, etc. is that their meaning is “non-compositional”; i.e., they mean something different from the literal c
by School-Cotton 4y ago
The whole point of stock phrases, idioms, expressions, etc. is that their meaning is “non-compositional”; i.e., they mean something different from the literal combination of words that make them up. Including even extreme cases where they can mean the opposite, like this one. That doesn’t mean they’re “wrong”, it’s just a quirk of human language.
- petepete 4y agoIt does. "I couldn't care less" is a common term and "I could care less" is a misunderstanding. I'd hope more people would realise they're saying they _do care_ about something they're claiming to not care about. It sounds stupid to a native English speaker.
- School-Cotton 4y agoYou’re just repeating the same point over and over rather than actually giving any argument. > It sounds stupid to a native English speaker You might be a native English speaker, but you’re not a native speaker of American English.
- petepete 3y ago> not a native speaker of American English I could care less.