in the UK we say “i couldnt care less” where as in the US they say “i could care less”. as far as i know the US one also means along the lines of “i dont give a shit” which seems strange to me as the UK version of it seems to make more sense. does the US’ “i could care less” infact mean “i dont give a shit” or am i misled and it actually means something else?
There are people here that say “Could care less” and are incorrect. In America, the correct was to say it is “Couldn’t care less”. I guess people just get used to saying it incorrectly and don’t think about the actual meaning of the words but the intent they were supposed to have.
People also still use the non-word “irregardless” when the actually mean regardless. I believe there is a Pit thread about the people that think “should have” is actually “should of”.
I just hope that the non-word “aggreance” a la Fred Durst doesn’t make it to pop culture.
My apologies to Mr. Durst, apparently “agreeance” (I even spelled it wrong before) is an obsolete word from the 18th century. I am sure he knew that.
“I could care less” is an idiomatic expression. Idioms do not have to obey the rules of grammar or even of common sense. They are what they are.
And yes, in the U.S. it does indeed mean “I don’t give a shit.”
Pardon my language, but I could give a shit whether folks catch the sarcasm in my idioms.
“I could care less” is a sarcastic idiom in the same lines as the idiom above. Discussing whether an idiom is “correct” or “incorrect” is a bizarre exercise in futility – but if you want to have at it, I hope you have a blast.
A fuller discussion of this question
Daniel
Good link; it brings up several other examples of idiomatic expressions that, taken literally, say the opposite of their intended meanings. For the most part (as in the case of “I could care less”), they aren’t being used with conscious irony, but simply out of habit.
The fact the people will swear that ‘for all intents and purposes’ is ‘for all intensive puproses,’ or that they change ‘could have’ into ‘could of’ which doesn’t make sense, even ironically, should be a clue that these so called ‘ironic idioms’ are actually the product of dumb people who are trying to justify their idiotisms as idioms.
Peace.
I could care.
Except I have never heard “could care less” used sarcastically.
If it’s an idiom, it’s arisen through people not considering what they’re saying. They hear the word “less” in the phrase “couldn’t care less”, ignore the context, and misrepeat it. Others pick that up with even less thought to what it means.
My usual response to the expression is: “How much less ?” But then I’m a pedantic irritant. 
In the UK most of us use apostrophes and capital letters, too.
…Which raises a good question. In this age of streamlining and speed, and efficiency, why don’t we get rid of capital letters?
I’m all for doing things properly, as long as I know what is proper, barring any typographical errors. But why do we have capital letters in the first place? I think it would be interesting to see exactly where the first rule of capitalizing the beginning of sentences and proper nouns came from.
Getting rid of the Shift Key would free up some valuable real estate on the keyboard.
This post in mostly in jest.
Which could then be used to add really small keys for ~!@#$%^&*()_+{}|:"<>?
Chicago Faucet - have you ever read German? You’d hate it. 
I’ve used that phrase from time to time:
“I could care less…”
and in the back of my mind I always add
“…but not much less.”
or, sometimes,
“…but I’d really have to work at it.”
So, count me as one person who has always understood this phrase to be deliberate irony.
To me, to actually say “I couldn’t care less” seems a bit more harsh or rude.
In case your interested, this was discussed in MPSIMS awhile back, along with other sayings that are confusing.
In case you’re interested, this was discussed in MPSIMS awhile back, along with other sayings that are confusing.
The thing about “I could care less” is that it isnt really very witty is it? I’d rather just say “couldn’t care less” and avoid looking like a smart arse.
I always used “I could care less” as “I don’t give a shit”
but ChordedZither makes a good point that it probably started out as a form of sarcasm or irony. I never thought of it that way, always just said it because it was something i heard a lot. (and I actually have wondered a few times about the actual meaning). Thats seems the most logical though, that is started out as sarcasm, and now people just say it without using the sarcastic tone of voice because everyone knows what it means anyway…
I could ponder about things like this for days…
While we’re at it, allow me to vent about the recent proliferation of the idiotic “The importance of xxx can not be underestimated.” Sure it can, unless you’re trying to say that xxx is not very important. The proper form would be that it can’t be overestimated. It seems I run into this about every day or two, and it bugs me every time. Cut it out.
(I don’t know if this sort of thing was discussed in the threads linked to above, since the @#$% hamsters keep dissing me today. It is difficult to underestimate the speed of the SDMB these days.)
RR
I feel better now.
The importance of xxx cannot be overstated is probably more logical.
I don’t remember hearing “I could care less” until maybe the '60s or '70s; before that, it was alway “I couldn’t care less.” Then “I could care less” took on a sarcastic meaning something like “Yeah right, as if I really give a shit.” In time, the sarcastic inflection became lost.
I think it was around the same time that the original moronic inflection of “duh” became lost.
Kids today.