Skip to main content

Tiny wordsmith rant

Today I read at least 3 articles/blog posts that used the phrase “could have cared less” referring to someone not being at all concerned with something. 

Example:
I could have cared less if they were serving spaghetti today. I wanted fettuccine.

If taken literally, this would mean that the speaker DID care somewhat that they were serving spaghetti.  But her point was that she didn’t care at all.

If you are saying that you absolutely don’t care at all about something…then you would say you could NOT have cared less.  There is no lesser amount of caring that could be achieved.  You really don’t care. Not a care in the world.

If you COULD have cared less…then you would have.  At least if the point is to show a complete indifference, which is generally how it is used.

I know. It’s petty.  I’m not slamming you, my friends.  But it’s one of those things that just keeps going because no one points it out. 

Lesson over. Class dismissed. For now.

Labels:

Comments

  1. CarolynJune 11, 2010 at 9:10 PM

    I'm with you on this one. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. JessieJune 11, 2010 at 9:18 PM

    :) I like this post.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownJune 12, 2010 at 8:48 AM

    I am filled with guilt and wondering where and when I did it. If you were critiquing my work, please change it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. muncherwJune 12, 2010 at 8:58 AM

    I could care less about this post.

    ReplyDelete
  5. RunningmamaJune 12, 2010 at 3:04 PM

    Giggling now because this same exact thing has bothered me before and I feel like I have had this conversation in my head sooo many times!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Momma PeepJune 13, 2010 at 12:21 PM

    I hate that!! And I HATE that I catch myself doing it all the stinkin' time!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. MOMJune 13, 2010 at 4:50 PM

    Do I sense a little Davidson in you? :o)

    ReplyDelete
  8. TriciaJune 15, 2010 at 7:54 AM

    ha! I was just listening to a man on the radio the other day talking about this. And how the INCORRECT version has made it's way into common usage and no one corrects it, so it's just taken.

    You would hate FB for the very reason that you discover just how many things people say incorrectly. One of my pet peeves--a huge one--is that SO many people say, "The worse thing in the world," instead of "The worst thing in the world." Or, "That is the worse!"

    Which really? COULD be technically ok. But...it's so wrong on so many levels! :)

    Thanks for holding people responsible. I know I make plenty of mistakes, but some things just grate!

    ReplyDelete
  9. KarenJune 16, 2010 at 8:29 AM

    Kind of like "irregardless".

    ReplyDelete
  10. stephanisteeleJune 16, 2010 at 12:55 PM

    I agree! That really bothers me too.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for commenting!! I only ask that we all keep it positive, respectful, and clean. Comment moderation is on for now. (As this is my blog, I reserve the right to delete any comment I deem inappropriate for any reason.) If you use the anonymous option, be sure to sign your name. Thanks!!

Make it a great day!!

Popular posts from this blog

31 for 21: What to say

I have encountered plenty of people who ask "How old is she?" when Braska and I are out together here and there. They always guess her age about 5 months younger than she is, but that's ok, since that's what size she is. I have said several times that I can imagine it will bother me a bit more, although still not a huge deal, when she turns one next month and I see their reaction to that, as she still is in her car seat/carrier when we're in a restaurant or in a store since she doesn't sit up. Today, I met some friends for brunch. The waitress was a nice enough, very young girl, and she started cooing at Braska right away. That's nice. I don't mind, Braska likes the attention, and I'm proud of my cutie. The waitress asked her age, and I told her 11 months. She then said, "But she's not walking yet?" as she noticed that she was up to the table in her car seat/carrier. I just agreed and said, "Not yet." She said she h...
11 comments
Read more

Can I get a do-over?

If you are in need of a laugh at another's expense, I invite you to read on... really, it's totally ok. I can take it. This might end up long, but I wanna remember this special day. Oh so special... Today is my first day to have both girls and be on my own. Yeah, it's been two weeks, but I'm apparently slow at learning how to deal with this kind of thing. I knew it would be a challenge, but I thought with starting way early, we could make it. The quick ending is that we did make it...but that's not really the whole story. Kinlee's been sleeping til about 9 am or so after getting up twice in the night. That's ok, I'm dealing with it. But since Braska is supposed to be at school at 10 am on Mondays, I thought I better not sleep in like I prefer, and instead, I should get up and get things moving earlier to be sure we're on time. Not a problem, since Braska decided to be up twice last night in addition to Kinlee's two times. One time overlapped...so...
25 comments
Read more

Little call, big letters

This will make more sense to you DS moms and families out there... I apologize for the cryptic nature, but you'll have to trust my reasoning. Braska had a lab draw on Tuesday last week. The GI called me Wednesday and said there were some significantly elevated levels in the results. Ok fine. Not like we've never had an abnormal lab. But then he used *those* words...the C word and the L word. Said he'd be talking to hem/onc. We needed to go redraw on Friday morning. We didn't freak or anything, but when I hung up the phone, I thought, "Wow, so that's what it's like the first time they mention it." We took her for her draw again on Friday morning, and we figured everything was fine since we got no call over the weekend. Yesterday I checked in with them. Dr. R confirmed that everything was clear, almost in a "weird way," but they checked with the lab to make sure it was a viable result. All is well. Follow up in 6 months as usual unle...
17 comments
Read more