Webster doesn't mention any change in use, simply:

"care less : not to care — used positively and negatively with the same meaning <I could care less what happens> <I couldn't care less what happens>"

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I could or couldn't care less.

The material is very flammable or inflammable.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/flammable-or-i...

English is confusing.

The first doesn't mean the same as the second, though. O.o

(On the off-chance you're not being tounge in cheek): No, "used positively and negatively with the same meaning", as in the two differently phrased idioms mean the same thing:

http://www.dictionary.com/e/could-care-less/

http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2016/04/05/the_rea...

https://xkcd.com/1576/ (!)

> the different intonations used in saying “I couldn’t care less” versus “I could care less.” [dictionary.com link]

> people who say “I could care less” are omitting the first part: “Like I could care less,” [Slate link]

These quotes seem to sum up those links.

I suppose, these days, for the sake of clarifying that I'm being sarcastic, I should just start saying: "I cloud care less".

To be perfectly honest, I'm kind of 50/50 between a genuine vexation with "could care less" being semantically wrong, and a cheerful agreement that usage defines meaning. The world's inconsistent and so occasionally, in response, am I. :P

Just use I'd'nt careless.

Though it could simply mean the realization that one can choose to care less about prescriptive language rules

Yes I think that's exactly what Stratoscope meant, and it was funny because that expression is a classic language peeve, as it is an illogical deformation (of the phrase "I couldn't care less") that is becoming the norm... but in that situation it made perfect sense. So I was showing appreciation for that nice touch.

Even funnier, when I wrote that I actually did just intend it in the sense of "could care less" and "couldn't care less" meaning the same thing. It was an example of how I had been too fussy about language rules.

But now that you've explained it, I see it works the other way too!

"Finally I learned to care less about these kinds of language rules."

There is something delicious about two seemingly contradictory phrases that mean the same thing, and one phrase that can mean two opposite things.