# Real-world examples of 'Ummm, acktually, It's X, not Y' nitpicks, and discussion about them

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [June 8, 2025, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326 "2025-06-08T12:47:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 10

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/181 "2025-06-12T15:35:45Z")

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I could care fewer. 😉 🤪

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**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/182 "2025-06-12T15:37:47Z")

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You _couldn’t_ care fewer

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/183 "2025-06-12T15:46:59Z")

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Here’s one that almost always used “incorrectly,” but will rarely elicit a public upbraiding, and that’s the [original] use of words like “hopefully” or “thankfully.” Probably others.

A pedantic “correct use” would be something like “We looked hopefully to the future.” Instead, it (and the others) will almost always be used idiomatically in the sense of “I (or we) hope that. . . .” as in “Hopefully, the package will arrive today.”

So. . . if you’re one of the types referenced in the OP, here’s some more finger-wagging ammo for ya. I did a search on the use of “hopefully” just since yesterday. I \*only went thru the first several, but every single one was used incorrectly in its literal sense.

\*Oh, heavens, a “misplaced only.”

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/184 "2025-06-12T15:54:49Z")

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> [@abcdefghij](#):
>
> You _couldn’t_ care fewer

Yep.

That was a deliberately double-barreled attack on pedantic convention.

FTR I’m firmly in the camp of " ‘couldn’t’ is correct and ‘could’ is ignorance probably originating in mishearing and dialects that specialize in laziness & sloppiness".

I know that position is more wrong than right but I cling to it like a shipwrecked sailor embraces his meagre driftwood upon the vastness of the wild sea of modern English.

  

Great comeback though. Well played, Good Sir / Madam!

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**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/185 "2025-06-12T15:59:16Z")

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> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> I know that position is more wrong than right but I cling to it like a shipwrecked sailor embraces his meagre driftwood upon the vastness of the wild sea of modern English.

Just be sure you’re clinging to jetsam. You can get in trouble for clinging to somebody else’s flotsam.

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**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/186 "2025-06-12T15:59:52Z")

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> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> I could care fewer. 😉 🤪

> [@abcdefghij](#):
>
> You _couldn’t_ care fewer

🤣

> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> FTR I’m firmly in the camp of " ‘couldn’t’ is correct and ‘could’ is ignorance probably originating in mishearing and dialects that specialize in laziness & sloppiness".

Surprisingly (to me, even) ‘I could care less’ never pinged my grammar Nazi radar. I always took it as either an ironic usage (like saying ‘yeah, I _love_ that idea’ when I really hate it) or a shortened version of ‘_as if_ I could care less’.

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**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/187 "2025-06-12T16:03:30Z")

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> [@solost](#):
>
> I always took it as either an ironic usage (like saying ‘yeah, I _love_ that idea’ when I really hate it) or a shortened version of ‘_as if_ I could care less’.

Same. I’ve always taken it to be sarcastic.

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/188 "2025-06-12T16:18:11Z")

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But the thing is, I’ve never heard that in the intonation. In the original “I couldn’t care less,” I’ve always heard the emphasis on “couldn’t.” In the shorter “I could care less” I would expect a sarcastic rendering also with emphasis on “could,” but I don’t think I’ve ever heard that. Maybe some do, but I can’t say I’ve heard that. (Yeah, I know, someone’s always heard it that way, and only that way.) The pattern seems to be the same as “I don’t care,” just longer, with the same emphasis on “I” and then descending in tone. Not going to debate the point, but I don’t buy the sarcastic sense because I don’t hear it that way in real life.

But “could care less” actually entered the lexicon with the negative sense moved from the auxiliary verb to the subject. The early press accounts from the late 1940s would say something like "and nobody could care less than [whoever]. From there it evolved from “nobody” to “I” or “we” by the mid 1950s. So the explicit negative connotation had been lost, but the negative sense remained.

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**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/189 "2025-06-12T16:21:12Z")

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> [@solost](#):
>
> > [@DrDeth](#):
> >
> > Okay, i wont argue that some modern jets can glide.
> 
> _ **All** _ modern jets can glide.

Not only can they glide, jet airliners can glide exceptionally well, with approximately 25% of the glide ratio of a purpose-built dedicated glider. **[The Gimli glider](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider)** (already mentioned previously) was a Boeing 767 that glided around 145 miles to a safe emergency landing on no engine power at all after running out of fuel. The glide capability of modern jetliners is due to efficient aerodynamics compared to older, slower planes.

> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> Okay, i wont argue that some modern jets can glide. But compare those to the late 1920’s planes- many still biplanes.

Biplanes are actually the worst of the lot due to terrible aerodynamics, caused in part by the drag of all the struts and wires and inefficient wing design. The glide ratio of something like a Sopwith Camel is about one-third of the glide ratio of a modern jetliner. Of course the modern jetliner has to maintain much higher airspeed in order to stay aloft, but it’s also covering much greater distances as it loses altitude.

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**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/190 "2025-06-12T17:14:48Z")

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> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#):
>
> In the original “I couldn’t care less,” I’ve always heard the emphasis on “couldn’t.”

And now that “I could care less” has taken over, “I couldn’t care less” comes off as weirdly earnest and insistent - as if you’re putting your foot down and declaring that, by golly, you _do!_ _not!_ _care!_ Which feels completely at odds with, y’know, not caring.

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**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/191 "2025-06-12T17:54:39Z")

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> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#):
>
> > [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#):
> >
> > In the original “I couldn’t care less,” I’ve always heard the emphasis on “couldn’t.”
> 
> And now that “I could care less” has taken over, “I couldn’t care less” comes off as weirdly earnest and insistent - as if you’re putting your foot down and declaring that, by golly, you _do!_ _not!_ _care!_ Which feels completely at odds with, y’know, not caring. &nbsp;

My problem with “could care less” is very simple: it doesn’t mean anything! Sure, most of us understand the intended meaning because of the tone in which it’s uttered, but the **words** don’t make sense. Is there something that you care less about? What exactly are you trying to say?

I get that the tone conveys the message, but this is how apes communicate. I’d like to think that humans are better than that. I’d like to think that humans delve a little deeper into language and actually comprehend the meanings of words, not just ape-like grunts.

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**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/192 "2025-06-12T17:56:05Z")

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> [@wolfpup](#):
>
> is how apes communicate, not humans.

Ummm, acktually…

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**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/193 "2025-06-12T17:58:01Z")

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Point taken, but I’d like to believe that humans are a subspecies of ape that exist on a somewhat higher plane, characterized in part by a comprehension of spoken and written language.

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/194 "2025-06-12T18:02:03Z")

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But such is the nature of idioms. They don’t mean what they say, and they’re hardly peculiar to English. I doubt that any English speaker’s personal lexicon is 100% literal. I think even the negative interrogative isn’t literal.

Jack did not go to the store.  
“Jack, did you go to the store?” “No.”  
“Jack, didn’t you go to the store?” “No.”

Asked that way, there’s an assumption on the part of the speaker the he/she thinks Jack did. It’s asked in a negative way, but it’s still the same answer.

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**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/195 "2025-06-12T18:03:20Z")

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I was really just joking in the spirit of the thread.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/196 "2025-06-12T18:14:18Z")

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> [@wolfpup](#):
>
> My problem with “could care less” is very simple: it doesn’t mean anything!

I have a similar problem with “head over heels”. I’m so overwhelmed with emotion that… I’m standing and walking upright as one normally does? Surely, the remarkable state should be for a person to be heels over head.

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**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/197 "2025-06-12T18:23:23Z")

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That’s what makes “could care less” annoying. There isn’t an expression “heels over head” so even though the idiom “head over heels” is technically wrong it doesn’t grate like those who took a perfectly good phrase, misheard it and **turned it into** nonsense.

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**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/198 "2025-06-12T18:29:16Z")

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> [@Chronos](#):
>
> Surely, the remarkable state should be for a person to be heels over head.

And to be ass-forwards.

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**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/199 "2025-06-12T18:30:18Z")

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> [@Chronos](#):
>
> I have a similar problem with “head over heels”.

I always hear that as ‘revolving around in a somersaulting fashion so one doesn’t know which way is up’; as if it were a shortened version of ‘heels over head over heels over head over heels over head . . .’

Granted, that isn’t what the phrase actually says; and I don’t think I’ve ever heard or seen that longer form.

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**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/200 "2025-06-12T19:43:04Z")

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> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> The problem is the speed involved. Kinetic energy goes at the square of the speed, and all that energy needs to be dissipated to zero to get the plane / wreckage stopped.
> 
> For very round numbers:  
> An ancient biplane glides best at 40mph. A modern Cessna glides best at 65 mph. An old DC-3 propliner glides best around 100mph. A modern Boeing glides best around 150mph and more like 200 with no flaps. An F-16 glides best at 300mph.
> 
> All of which is just fine until you first touch the ground or water going that fast. Finding a spot of land empty enough and flat enough to survivably decelerate from 40 or 60 mph is rather different than from 150 mph or 300.

Good points.

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