# Why could people care less? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 10, 2006, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-people-care-less/372225 "2006-09-10T23:12:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-people-care-less/372225/1 "2006-09-10T23:12:09Z")
That implies that they do care, to some extent. Surely you couldn’t care less? ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-people-care-less/372225/2 "2006-09-10T23:28:06Z")
This has been discussed before here, and it is an American usage that, like you, I didn’t understand at all, having grown up with “I _couldn’t_ care less”, which makes more sense on the surface. But I understand it now. It’s quite dry. It means “I suppose I could care even less than I currently do, but that would require extra effort that’s not worth making.” It’s subtle. I like it. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-people-care-less/372225/3 "2006-09-11T02:07:02Z")
> [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > This has been discussed before here, and it is an American usage that, like you, I didn’t understand at all, having grown up with “I _couldn’t_ care less”, which makes more sense on the surface. Uh… in the US that’s considered non-standard too, you know. Only idiots say “could care less” rather than “couldn’t.” I can understand your confusion though, if you’ve mostly read it on message boards. Lots of idiots in the US enjoy posting on message boards. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-people-care-less/372225/4 "2006-09-11T10:08:27Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Uh… in the US that’s considered non-standard too, you know. Only idiots say “could care less” rather than “couldn’t.” I can understand your confusion though, if you’ve mostly read it on message boards. Lots of idiots in the US enjoy posting on message boards. 😉 And writing successful rock songs… > [@](#): > > I read the graffiti > In the bathroom stall > Like the holy scriptures in a shopping mall > And so it seemed to confess > It didn’t say much > But it only confirmed that > The center of the Earth > Is the end of the world > And I could really care less - Green Day, _Jesus of Suburbia_ I love that album, and I love that song, but that last line in that verse gets on my nerves! Of course, it it about graffiti, which isn’t always on board when it comes to proper English, and there is the whole interpretation offered by **The Loaded Dog** … ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-people-care-less/372225/5 "2006-09-11T13:38:38Z")
I have a few friends that say this and it bugs me. I keep wanting to correct them, but not wanting to be a grammar nazi, I don’t. I was born and raised on _Couldn’t Care Less_ and it makes perfect sense to me. _Could Care Less_ simply tells me that they _do_ care which, in context, says absolutely nothing. What bugs me is when it’s used with related phrases: _I could give a rat’s ass_ and kin, for example.