It really bothers me when people say, “I could care less”. It happens all the time and I don’t understand how they could be confused. If you “could care less” then that means you do care at some level and clearly care more than a person that doesn’t care at all about the given topic. I’m not sure why people get so mixed up about this common phrase but it makes me wonder.
It is possible that it comes down to insecurity. I would contend that when a person utters this phrase, it is often done so out of emotional frustration. Perhaps they are angry, sad, or just perturbed. In such an emotional state, one doesn’t want to concede weakness, but will attempt to represent strength. Perhaps they mistakenly say, “I could” instead of “I couldn’t” because we like to think in terms of what we “can” do instead of what we “can’t” or “couldn’t” do.
Then again, it is entirely possible that folks that say, “I could care less” simply have never stopped to consider the meaning of the words coming out their mouth. I suppose we shouldn’t let it bother us. But I can’t say that I couldn’t care less…because I do care.
