I could care less

I could care less

Have you ever used the phrase “I could care less”? If so, you might be using it incorrectly. It should probably be “I couldn’t care less”.

When you say “I could care less,” you’re telling people that you care right now, but under certain conditions, you could care even less than you do now.

When you say “I couldn’t care less,” you’re telling people that you care as little as possible about this issue, that there’s no way you could care any less than you do now.

By Kim Siever

I am a copywriter and copyeditor. I blog on writing and social media tips mostly, but I sometimes throw in my thoughts about running a small business. Follow me on Twitter at @hotpepper.

2 comments

    1. Thanks for the link, Jonathan. That’s the thing with the English language: sometimes what’s incorrect ends up becoming the standard. The jury’s still out on this one, but given it’s popularity, it’ll be interesting if that happens here, too.

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