While people who pronounce "realtor" as "reel-a-tor" and those who say "spendy" still top my list, my absolute biggest pet peeve lately is the bastardization of the phrase "couldn't care less."
I have increasingly seen or heard this phrase used as "COULD care less," as if that makes sense. I even saw it used that way in a mainstream magazine article that was presumably looked at by at least one editor (shame on you, Real Simple). The writer stated that her free-spirited mother "could care less about dirty dishes." Hmmm. So what could she care more about?
Apparently there are a lot of people running around who think they DON'T care about something but continually tell to others that they REALLY DO by mangling this phrase. Perhaps the extra "n't" is just too much effort for those who are already trying to indicate they care so little? Who knows. But I suspect future generations will scratch their heads at how the then-common phrase "could care less" came about, because, they will realize, it means the opposite of what it's supposed to.
Kind of like "head over heels." Aren't our heads always over our heels? I'll bet some idiot mangled "heels over head" one day and it took off like wildfire. I'm just sayin'.
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3 comments:
OMG I hate that TOO!
~Amy
http://andsometimesy.blogspot.com
What about healthy v. healthful. The thing I hate most about the misuse of the word "healthy" is that if you use the proper form of the word you sound entirely snooty.
You almost sound less snooty if you say "couldn't" v. "could." There is something about all the 'n'ts that just sounds redneck.
I think "couldn't care less" is a perfectly legitimate usage. It has been around for a hundred years. It means I care so little for this matter that I couldn't care less. Somewhere along the line, people who didn't comprehend the meaning, or to be clever, started saying "I COULD care less", which means they do care; NOT what they really want to say. THAT usage is incoherent.
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