It's COULDNT care less!!! Aarrrgghhh

[OctopusSexArm]

After about the 15th time this week reading "they could care less" I feel like I'm losing my mind!

When did this start?
Why are people getting it wrong?!

IT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE SENSE PEOPLE

Bangs head on table

YES this annoys me so much!

'Pissed' instead of 'pissed off' utterly boils my PISS!

Sorry to disappoint but its origins are not American.

The origins of this phrase are believed to be British and date back to at least the mid-20th century. It’s been speculated that the phrase emerged as a sarcastic response, implying that the speaker cares so little about something that they could not possibly care any less. The earliest known use of the expression in print is from around the 1940s in the UK and not America.

Over time, it became a widely recognized in English-speaking countries and interestingly, in the U.S., you might also hear the phrase “I could care less,” which is a variation that can confuse people because it seems to imply the opposite of what’s intended. However, it’s understood to mean the same thing in context due to its sarcastic undertones.

So I am afraid us Brits are responsible

"Off my own back" also fills me with pedantic irritation.

It is annoying. As others have said, I think it comes from phrasing as a question "could I care less?" Or "do I look like I could care less" to "I could care less". I think it implies that you could care less, but the whole topic as a whole is so beyond your caring, that you can't even be bothered to ascertain whether you could (or couldn't) care less.

The phrase "my bad" is believed to have originated in the United States, likely in the 1970s or 1980s. The phrase gained popularity as a sporting term in the 1990s, particularly in basketball circles, and was used by players as a quick way to acknowledge an error without spending much time on it and the phrase just spread!

I think the PP is talking about 'could care less', not 'couldn't care less'. i.e. knows the latter is British in origin, which is the point of the OP.

Glad it's not just me.

It comes from an expression 'I could care less if I cared more' - you can say 'I couldn't care less' but that is not the expression it's like saying 'Paris wasn't built in a day'

I can’t stand, ‘my bad’ , where did that come from!!! You’ve used it op so it’s off to room 101 with you!

It's American....
Like

Pooping (pooing! Please, it is not pretty, don't try to make it so)
Passed (by? Over? Away? It's died or passed away at a push. Again, it's brutal and final, tell it like it is. Please)
Pissed (in the UK this means drunk, pissed OFF is what you're after)

And I agree with you OP, I could care less means you care an awful lot! 😡😡😡

I actually quite like it.

It's like, I could care less about you, if I gave you any thought whatsoever, but I don't.

Pooping (pooing! Please, it is not pretty, don't try to make it so)

I was on a flight back from US recently. The American guy next to me (55, a pilot - we chatted) excused himself by announcing he needed to ‘go potty’. I’ve heard other American adults say this. It makes me shrivel up.

I am wondering if you realise that it is Murphy's Law and being ironic and then I googled it. Learn something every day.

It is Muphry’s Law

Ahh you edited at the same time I posted😄

Yes sorry!

Somehow americans lost the sarcasm of the 'as if I could care less' form of the phrase 'I could not care less'.

Said in a flat non-sarcastic tone, 'I could care less' means 'I could care less than I currently do'. Written that way without anything to indicate sarcasm and then read without the sarcasm.. that is what you get.

It isn't just Americans who lose the nuance of phrases and spoken language when they learn from written text and then repeat to others who also learned without hearing it said correctly. We're all at risk of that, hence the common occurrence of phrases like 'doggy dog world' and 'from the gecko'.

FFS people... she was obviously being sarcastic (and I didn't read to see if there was a response from Louis, so am taking a huge risk in saying that 😂😂). But to me it seemed intended.

I couldn't care less

No wait. I could care less as I don't care that much? But it bugs me a little. I'm confused now

And me! Never heard the phrase

this really pisses me off too. confuses the english language and makes me think i'm going mad. also 'unconscious bias' - bias when youre unconscious?? surely subconscious bias makes far better sense?!

I'm not usually pedantic but this one does really wind me up.
It completely changes the meaning!!
If you could care less then actually you DO CARE A BIT!! so that's no the meaning you are trying to convey is it??
Makes me unreasonably angry. YANBU

@OctopusSexArm - but you're being a pedant

I have just been listening to my audiobook. An American audiobook no less. And the words ‘I couldn’t care less’ were used. The novel was written last year, so not a ye olde worlde book of yesteryear. I suppose that means both expressions are used there. Maybe it’s regional.