Could or Couldn’t Care Less? The Naughty Grammarian Explains
Frankly, My Dear...
Frankly, My Dear, I Don’t Give a Damn
Miss Grammers must confess that she sometimes approves of strong language. It breaks through the clutter, and lets everyone know that you mean business.
In the movie classic, Gone with the Wind, when Rhett Butler wanted to let Scarlett O’Hara know in no uncertain terms that he was done with her and her scheming, he said, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
If Rhett Butler had wanted to be a bit more decorous in his language, he could have said, “I couldn’t care less.”
Or should he have said “I could care less”?
Miss Grammers would like to clarify the issue as to which option is better.
I Couldn't Care Less
I Couldn’t Care Less
The phrase “I couldn’t care less” originated in Great Britain around the turn of the 20th century.
“I couldn’t care less” is precise, it is to the point, and there is no mistaking the meaning. When one wishes to express utter disdain and a total lack of interest, but one also wishes to avoid even mild profanity, the proper phrase is “I couldn’t care less.” This phrase also has the advantage of being precise, to the point, and very clear in its meaning.
When Melanie heard that Doug was engaged to Linda, it was like a knife-stab to her heart, but she’d be damned if she was going to let anyone know how she felt. “Oh really,” she said, “I couldn’t care less.”
Uninterested or Disinterested?
The Difference Between Uninterested and Disinterested
Please permit Miss Grammers to digress for a moment. In the above excerpt from Miss Grammers’ novel Love’s True Desires, did Melanie claim she was uninterested or did she claim to be disinterested in the news about Doug and Linda?
Uninterested is an adjective that means bored, indifferent, or unconcerned. Disinterested means unbiased, impartial, objective, or not having a personal interest in the matter being discussed.
Clearly Melanie is feigning a lack of interest. She wants people to think she is uninterested.
When Melanie heard that Doug and Linda had a fight, Melanie said “I couldn’t care less. I am uninterested in their relationship.”
When Melanie heard that Doug and Linda had a fight, Melanie said, “I will try to counsel them. As a disinterested person, I might be able to help.”
In the first example, Melanie was lying.
In the second example, Melanie was lying through her teeth and scheming to make matters worse for Doug and Linda.
Does a Toothy Smile Hide a Lie?
The Meaning of "Lying Through Your Teeth"
Please allow Miss Grammers another digression. Miss Grammers is going off on tangents today. Some days are just like that.
Lying through your teeth means to tell a blatant, and malicious, falsehood.
There is no clear source for this idiom. It most likely means that one smiles when telling this lie so as not to reveal one’s malicious intent. The teeth are shown when one smiles, but the words emerging from behind that smile are a lie.
We know that Melanie does indeed have an interest in the outcome of the fight between Doug and Linda, so she is blatantly lying when she offers to help and is most certainly trying to do some mischief. She undoubtedly smiled when she offered to help.
If someone had looked closely, they might have seen that she looked like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.
Do Warm Words Hide a Cold Heart?
The Meaning of "Butter Wouldn’t Melt in His Mouth"
Miss Manners must apologize again. This will be her last digression—Miss Grammers promises.
“Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth” means to affect an air of innocence, sincerity, and warm concern, while being inwardly cool. It indicates duplicity—the speaker is being warm in manner to indicate caring, but the speaker is actually being cold and calculating. Melanie is outwardly showing enough warmth to melt butter, but is actually so cold in her feelings that butter couldn’t melt.
Sometimes this phrase is misused to suggest that the speaker is actually being sweet and nice, but that is the exact opposite of the meaning. The key to the meaning is “wouldn’t”-–the speaker is too cold (too unemotional) to melt butter (metaphorically speaking).
Could Care Less?
The Difference Between "Could" or "Couldn't" Care Less
Finally, Miss Grammers has circled back to the initial question of “I couldn’t care less” vs. “I could care less.”
Some people would say that Melanie could have said “I could care less” and conveyed the same meaning. Miss Grammers is not one of those people. Although the phrase is commonly used to express a lack of interest, it lacks clarity of meaning.
Compare these two statements.
When Melanie heard that Doug was engaged to Linda, it was like a knife-stab to her heart, but she’d be damned if she was going to let anyone know how she felt. “Oh really,” she said, “I couldn’t care less.”
When Melanie heard that Doug was engaged to Linda, it was like a knife-stab to her heart, but she’d be damned if she was going to let anyone know how she felt. “Oh really,” she said, “I could care less.”
In the second statement, is Melanie saying that she cares not at all? Or is Melanie saying that she cares just a little, or even a whole lot?
If Melanie couldn’t care less, it means she cares so little that it would be impossible for her to care any less than she does. She is at the nadir (the lowest point) of caring. On a scale from zero to ten, she is at zero. If she could care less, however, the literal meaning is that she could go lower on the scale. On a scale of zero to ten, she might be at one or two.
The Origin of “Could Care Less”
The expression “could care less” may have developed from Yiddish humor which frequently uses an expression directly opposite to the speaker's true meaning in a sarcastic manner. It is similar to the expression, “You should be so lucky.”
Miss Grammers had to use italics to show the emphasis on the verb “should” when the word is spoken. Since it is hard to convey vocal intonation in written language, Miss Grammers advises you to avoid sarcasm in written language unless the context makes it very clear that the words are meant as sarcasm.
In spoken language Miss Grammers believes that one would have to grossly exaggerate the verb “could” in the hopes of conveying the sarcasm. Consequently Miss Grammers advises against the use of “I could care less.”
However, should you find yourself addressing a Yiddish audience, Miss Grammers gives you permission to use “I could care less,” providing you can get the inflection exactly right.
Miss Grammers
Who is Miss Grammers?
Miss Grammers has led you, dear loyal reader, on a merry chase today flitting from idiom to idiom like a bee flitting from flower to flower.
Miss Grammers is sometimes a bit of a naughty librarian going off on wild sprees that belie her prim and proper exterior. Everything she does is to help her dear loyal readers master the intricacies of English grammar and usage.
If you have found this lesson helpful and also (Miss Grammers hopes) enjoyable, please search out and read all of her other lessons.
Miss Grammers does indeed give a damn about correct English grammar and usage, and she hopes you do too.
The "Frankly, My Dear, I Don't Give a Damn" clip from "Gone with the Wind"
Just for fun.
view quiz statistics© 2014 Catherine Giordano
Comments
Sorry Catherine, that one slipped by. lol
I went around bouts with more than one teacher that said it was,"I could care less." I would say well maybe you could but I couldn't! Fun article.
I believe that the Naughty Grammarian just made a naughty spelling error - 'excepts' instead of 'excerpts'. :-)
As I perused this I noticed that Miss Grammers used love affairs as an example for each word. Curious. Is she a romantic? This was very interesting. I did learn a few things. Since I am always trying to improve my grammar, Hubs such as this are intriguing to me. I voted this up, shared and pinned it.
Kevin
I am going to practice using disinterested. Thanks for the lesson today.
Catherine - I hate these terms and appreciate your humor as you present them. I wish folks would use proper language, and it is interesting that some phrases come from somewhere like old movies. Everything begins somewhere - style, words, phrases and the like. I must read more of your works. Thanks for sharing. Blessings, Audrey
-
-
One of my peeves is how sayings are changed over time by new generations. It is and should always be "I couldn't care less". "Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth" has always meant to me that a person is being two-faced and pretending to be sweet and nice where in fact she was the complete opposite. Good article from the Naughty Grammarian as usual.
This is a wonderful hub and some of these were not what I thought they meant. They were fun and just stopped by to let you know. Stella
These are entertaining. I scored 100%, never had much of a problem with them but found your examples and explanations amusing.
Wow. Very awesome post. I am not lying through my tooth. I am very sincere in applauding you. Its so great a lesson taught with so much humor in your style. I love it.
Voted up, awesome and shared to facebook and g+
the section about 'could care less' being from yiddish humor is very interesting and good to know, but i still say 'couldn't care less'. ; )
Great presentation, Miss Grammers. I like your creativity; you correct us with such grace. Thanks for the video clip. I have expressed Rhet Butler's line many, many times (inaudibly). Voted Up!
-
-
I'm going to try, Catherine! Keep doing your thing.
This one really grinds my gears. I could care a whole lot less about this issue.
There may be a difference of usage between American and British English regarding "butter wouldn't melt in her mouth". The meaning is the same, but it's like you've arrived at the same meaning from the opposite direction.
In British English, the phrase is "She LOOKS as though butter wouldn't melt in her mouth". The correct usage is to describe someone who is guilty of some malicious deed or scandalous behaviour but presents the appearance of being so cool, pure and utterly innocent that butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. This is despite everyone knowing the truth about her - and despite her knowing that everyone knows.
"Look at her - got caught stealing the church charity money but walking around looking like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth". As you said, it's not referring to any sweetness or warmth that she may be displaying, but neither is it referring to her cold and calculating nature; it's referring specifically to her facade of purity and innocence.
Great article! Had me chuckling too. And thank you, I'd never really stopped to think about, "Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth," before. Thanks for explaining that one. I too was under the mistaken impression it meant someone was sweet.
Yay, the Naughty Grammarian returns with one of my pet peeves. I stand with you that "could care less" is imprecise. I too like a bit of strong and surly language every now and then for emphasis. That was fun as always, and I learned a new phrase. I had never heard the butter not melting one.
32