754 - The Tie Between Ann Landers and 'Could Care Less.'

Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

Mignon Fogarty, Inc.

Society & Culture, Education

4.5 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 16 January 2020

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Language experts actually have theories about why people say they "could care less" (instead of they "couldn't care less"). We dig deep to find the root of the problem. LINKS AND SPONSORS | Learn how you can get my LinkedIn Learning course free: https://t.co/coQuXJRtrT | GRAMMAR GIRL EMAIL NEWSLETTER | https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/newsletters | GRAMMAR POP iOS GAME | Optimized for iPad: http://bit.ly/iPadGrammarPop | For iPad and iPhone: http://bit.ly/GrammarPopMobile | PEEVE WARS CARD GAME | https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/grammar-girl-s-peeve-wars | GRAMMAR GIRL BOOKS | http://bit.ly/GrammarPopBooks | GRAMMAR GIRL IS PART OF THE QUICK AND DIRTY TIPS PODCAST NETWORK | VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)

Transcript

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0:00.0	[♪ INTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪
0:04.8	Grammar girl here, I'm the Neon Foggerty, and you can think of me as your friendly guide to the English language.
0:10.5	Writing, history, rules, and cool stuff.
0:13.5	Today, I have a segment about Could Care Less and Couldn't Care Less.
0:18.1	And a fun, family-like story. Let's get started.
0:21.3	[♪ INTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪
0:23.2	When people tell me they're pet peeves, they often mention the phrase Could Care Less.
0:29.5	They claim it should be Couldn't Care Less.
0:32.4	It's illogical. If you could care less, you still care.
0:36.5	Don't people get it, they say?
0:38.7	Celebrities have even jumped on the cranky bandwagon.
0:42.2	Both David Mitchell and John Cleese have made popular YouTube videos
0:46.4	ranting about the illogical phrase Could Care Less.
0:50.5	Interestingly, both men are British comedians, and they're both complaining
0:54.8	in particular about Americans who use the phrase.
0:58.9	Are Americans really more likely to say they Could Care Less?
1:03.4	Well, it appears so. At least when you look at how often that phrase shows up in American books,
1:09.5	Google has scanned. Versus British books, Google has scanned.
1:13.7	It shows up a lot more often in American books.
1:17.7	Now, that could mean that Americans use it more, or it could mean that British editors are more strict
1:23.9	about changing Could Care Less to Couldn't Care Less.
1:28.4	But the Oxford English Dictionary calls Could Care Less a US colloquial phrase.
	...

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