In my countries usage of the phrase, "couldn't care less" isn't an idiom. It's a cliché phrase, but one that I parse each word of. It's more akin to "better safe than sorry" or "ignorance is bliss".
It's really jarring to hear "could care less" because it flips the meaning. It's like saying:
"The news is really getting me down lately. I guess it's true what they say - ignorance isn't bliss!".
or
"You should put your seatbelt on. Better sorry than safe you know."
Maybe this is the reason that this phrase is particularly divisive. In US English it has partially or fully crossed over into being an idiom, where the words individual meanings are irrelevant to the meaning of the whole, while in UK/Aus/NZ/Other English it is still treated like a phrase to be taken literally. It's not clear to me whether the journey it took in the US was:
1. Cliché becomes idiom -> the specific words no longer matter -> let's just shorten it to "could"
or
2. People got confused between "could" and "couldn't" -> the individual words no longer make sense -> it's now an idiom
The second seems more likely to me, but I suppose it doesn't matter.
> Let’s just consider the quote above. If we break down “couldn’t care less,” it doesn’t work either. “Could” implies ability. A rock or a tree couldn’t care less. You could; you just don’t want to.
No, this is misunderstanding the phrase. The only time that a person could accurately describe themselves as being unable to care about something any less than they currently do, is if they already care the minimal amount. Which is what the phrase is implying. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om7O0MFkmpw
I generally agree with your other examples though.
"Let’s just consider the quote above. If we break down “couldn’t care less,” it doesn’t work either. “Could” implies ability. A rock or a tree couldn’t care less. You could; you just don’t want to."
I don't think this is right. The point of the phrase is: "I care about this subject so little, it is literally impossible to care less about it."
Oh don’t even get me started on German prepositions! (Or Czech ones, for that matter.) So illogical!
Thanks for the fun and informative article, Klaus!
I love this. Standing ovation.
Another age-based one:
based on / based off of
Is this the time to talk about Confucius and the rectification of names?
I broadly agree with your point, however:
In my countries usage of the phrase, "couldn't care less" isn't an idiom. It's a cliché phrase, but one that I parse each word of. It's more akin to "better safe than sorry" or "ignorance is bliss".
It's really jarring to hear "could care less" because it flips the meaning. It's like saying:
"The news is really getting me down lately. I guess it's true what they say - ignorance isn't bliss!".
or
"You should put your seatbelt on. Better sorry than safe you know."
Maybe this is the reason that this phrase is particularly divisive. In US English it has partially or fully crossed over into being an idiom, where the words individual meanings are irrelevant to the meaning of the whole, while in UK/Aus/NZ/Other English it is still treated like a phrase to be taken literally. It's not clear to me whether the journey it took in the US was:
1. Cliché becomes idiom -> the specific words no longer matter -> let's just shorten it to "could"
or
2. People got confused between "could" and "couldn't" -> the individual words no longer make sense -> it's now an idiom
The second seems more likely to me, but I suppose it doesn't matter.
> Let’s just consider the quote above. If we break down “couldn’t care less,” it doesn’t work either. “Could” implies ability. A rock or a tree couldn’t care less. You could; you just don’t want to.
No, this is misunderstanding the phrase. The only time that a person could accurately describe themselves as being unable to care about something any less than they currently do, is if they already care the minimal amount. Which is what the phrase is implying. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om7O0MFkmpw
I generally agree with your other examples though.
"Let’s just consider the quote above. If we break down “couldn’t care less,” it doesn’t work either. “Could” implies ability. A rock or a tree couldn’t care less. You could; you just don’t want to."
I don't think this is right. The point of the phrase is: "I care about this subject so little, it is literally impossible to care less about it."