I dont know if its been said yet but maybe it started out as “…Like i could care less”
and then people got lazy?
Public illiteracy among those who should know better is becoming rampant. The other day on NPR I heard one of the announcers say statue of limitations!
Huh? I know he hated technology, but incorrectly phrased aphorisms?
People, people, people. When are you going to realize that language isn’t math or formal logic?
Language is not for the literal-minded. That’s why everyone knows that a double-negative is more negative than a single, and that “I could care less” means the opposite of its constituent words. Both should be avoided in formal writing, whose audience is presumed to include those for whom English is a second language. But amongst ourselves, these phrases are much more vivid than the pallid alternatives pendants prefer.
Look at the fate of Esperanto and you’ll see that a language’s robustness depends on its illogic.
On Saturday Night Live in the early 80’s, Edwin Newman (rather famous news anchor) did a ‘bit’ about grammar and what not.
He said that he was tired of hearing people say “I could care less” when the implication is supposed to be that you care so little that you “couldn’t care less”.
I couldn’t care less that you have 2,000 posts.
So, it ain’t a recent thing.
Yes, as noted earlier in the thread, it’s been around in the US since the 60’s.