[net.nlang] "I could care less"

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
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