Maybe I misunderstood The Examiner's reply to BethPerry, but it looked like he was saying that "could care less" is correct and "couldn't care less" is wrong because "couldn't" and "less" cancel each other out and mean that someone does care (as much as, and maybe more than, before). My earlier reply to Beth (who is from Tn) was to say that, until her post, I had always assumed "could care less" to be a completely illogical but well-accepted thing that Americans consider correct. I was surprised (and pleased) to see an American say it's wrong.
So The Examiner's reply to Beth implying that it wasn't wrong (or at least, that's what I inferred) put me back to square one. In Britain, it's a non-issue because nobody ever says "could care less" unless they're pretending to be American and say it with a fake American accent.
So - I'd love to know once and for all: is "could care less" a phrase that American English teachers would correct in class if a student used it, or is it a phrase that the English teachers themselves would use and consider correct?
Beth says it's wrong - The Examiner says it's not (I think) and now you (another Beth just to add to the confusion) agree with Beth (and 60 million Brits). As for American usage, I'm hoping the Beths have it right because, frankly, my dear, I DO give a damn 