rcj (02/06/83)
'The literal meaning of the phrase is clearly the reverse of what the person intends to say...' I believe that this is inaccurate: "I could care less" is merely a shortened version of the original statement "I could care less, but I don't know how." This type of intensification is quite popular: "He/she/I/they/we could be uglier/fatter/richer/poorer/whatever, but I can't see/don't know how." Don't ask me for verifying documentation, 'cause I ain't got none, The MAD Programmer alias: Curtis Jackson ...!floyd!burl!rcj ...!sb1!burl!rcj ...!mhuxv!burl!rcj