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A comment on The Britishisation of American English. Parent comment

Re:The Britishisation of American English by yardie on Thursday September 27, 2012 @11:26AM (#4581082)
To my American ears couldn't and less are a double negative. Like here is my level of concern and I can't go below that. OTOH, "could care less", means my level of disregard can approach -∞
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Re:The Britishisation of American English by dpark on Thursday September 27, 2012 @11:49AM (#4581205)
Less isn't a negative. It's a comparative.

"I couldn't care less" means "I am incapable of caring any less" aka "I care as little as possible". "I could care less" means "I do not care as little as possible" aka "I care a little".

If your level of concern is not zero, then I suppose you "could care less", but that means you do care, which is not the sentiment normally intended by the phrase.

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