To think the British way of saying I couldn’t care less vs the American way of saying I could care less makes much more sense?

[Eaglemom]

the title explains my gripe! When I hear it in films it gets my goat

Oh this bugs me too! When you say 'I couldn't care less', it's implying that it is not possible to care less than you already do, which is the lowest possible amount. The American version of 'I could care less' is actually saying that you could actually care even less about things so it's not at the lowest level. I don't believe the American version is used correctly to what it is meant to imply.

I hope that made sense, it's late 😂

US films are mainly aimed at US audiences so I wouldn't get wound up about it.

I have to deal with various types of English at work. It's only annoying when you have to write shared documents as some people will default to US English.

Absolutely. If you could care less, you obviously care.

And I couldn't care less is not just British. I'm Irish and we use it too. I don't know about other dialects of English though. Any Australians, new Zealanders, Canadians etc want to comment?

Ha yes thank you above posters, I go through this thought process whenever it pops up

I never say that phrase, ever.

I say versions of it which are much more profane but much clearer...

Couldn't give a shit
Couldn't give a fuck
Couldn't give a rodents rectum

So on and so on.

I wonder if it applies to all the phrases.
would Americans say I could give a shit? Or I could give a rodents rectum?

Even this American song thinks ‘I could care less is wrong’. I don’t think it’s a US thing.

It's basically a mishearing / bastardisation of an expression that took on a life of its own despite the fact that it makes no sense.

@KissTheRains "Couldn't give a rodents rectum" ?? 🤣🤣🤣 I'm not English and I've definitely not heard this one.

Agree, and I usually find complaints about Americanization of the English language a bit tedious. It just doesn’t make sense!

Its like ‘you’ve got another thing coming’ it’s been misheard or misused enough that it’s now stuck.

Where exactly are you hearing this?

Yes it’s incredibly annoying and makes no sense at all. It really grates on me. If you could care less it means you care - the exact opposite of what the phrase is meant to convey.

Deleting due to silly reply button mistake!

Americans, American TV and movies and podcasts etc

I don’t think it’s a big deal, tye sentiment is obvious in both statements.

You could even argue Americans are saying they could care less because they can care less.

Ok… TV and podcasts are totally the bastion of truth and realism 😂

Sorry all …carry on with th the American bashing. I won’t interrupt again.

It’s not an American thing. If an American says “I could care less” they’ve simply misspoken. 99.9% of the time it’s phrased in the negative here.

You all know that Weird Al is a parody singer, right?

I remember this one poster who absolutely wouldn’t understand why her and her husband could much more easily afford their rent and bills on their combined salaries than their single friend who earned the same as her. No kids or anything, just an absolute refusal to acknowledge that working couples share costs.

Americans say it, I lived there for years. I don’t have much of an opinion on it either way, but it’s a commonplace phrase there. Hardly a conspiracy theory 🙂

Yep! What also grates on me is "calvary" instead of "cavalry". How is this also so often mistaken? Let's all just talk backwards because people will assume what we've said is correct. Laziness and stupidity have allowed things like this to spread and become accepted 🤬

I heard an American actor explain that it's only half of the sentence. It is understood by most as,
I could care less ....but i cant be bothered.

Wrong thread?

Could it be regional? I lived in Oregon and it’s a commonplace phrase there.

Perhaps. I’m a New Yorker and almost never hear it here.