Kermi said:
Except saying "could care less" doesn't make sense, and will never make sense, and hiding behind "language changes" to protect your bad grammar is laughable.
[sarcasm]Oh shit nvm, you're 100% right... actually, every single phrase in the queens English makes perfect sense when compared to its' Anglo Saxon original dialect.[/sarcasm]
Oh wait, no... sorry, I just remembered there's actually hundreds of butchered idioms dating back to Shakespeare that have either become a part of every day speech or have literally changed the language itself... And I'm not hiding behind shit.
InterAirplay said:
And it's not like you have a sense of humo- wait, hold on... could care less has nothing to do with language changing, it just flat out doesn't make sense. I nearly fell for that.
OhJohnNo said:
No, he's damn funny. And he's right that "I could care less" makes absolutely no sense. That said, I didn't even realise Americans used it, and can't see why.
This has nothing to do with a sense of humor. It has to do with people listening to this guy banter on as if Britain speaks a language completely free of nonsensical colloquialisms, and then thinking that Americans are stupid as a result. Trust me, as someone who has been around the world, I can safely say that there is a large amount of stupid British people and there is a large amount of stupid Americans. Neither country is
ACTUALLY smarter.
Also, OhJohnNo, despite what Mr. British Rant has to say, "Could care less" is a
worldwide conversational blunder amongst those who speak English, and honestly, it's one of the least important ones to exist ever.
Grammar Comprehensibility* Hitler is smiling in his lettered grave.
Edit:*
Kermi said:
There's a difference between idioms that don't make sense when taken literally because they are metaphorical or use odd similies, and turns of phrase don't make sense because of poor grammar.
Please give me an example of an idiom you think doesn't make sense - it's probably still grammatically correct.
The fact of the matter is saying I could care means that you care, and COULD care less, if you chose to. Just because a large number of people have come to understand the meaning, doesn't make it grammatically correct. It never will be grammatically correct. Arguing that it is, is tantamount to arguing that 1 + 1 equals anything other than 2.
What?
"I could care less." is a 100% percent grammatically correct statement. You're confusing grammar with comprehensibility. Let's go back to grade school here.
Grammar is a bunch of rules that are followed to make our sentences understandable.
This turn of phrase makes sense because a small contraction was lost (probably due to overuse). There are literally THOUSANDS of common turns of phrase that we use every single day that developed for the exact same reason.
Here's an example of a phrase that is acceptable to use by both Brits and Americans alike that is 100% grammatically incorrect.
"I'm going to try
and make a sandwich."
Unless you are stating that you are "going to try", then subsequently telling someone to make a sandwich, this sentence is grammatically incorrect. What it should say is "I'm going to try
to make a sandwich." but it is such a moot point to correct that 90% of the rational people in the world don't give a flying fuck.