"I could care less" (Steve's Grammatical Observations)

[hagiadzo]

The caption at 1:06 is missing an apostrophe and says "I dont care" instead of "I don't care."

[ZhouFantastic]

I hate it when people make this mistake. x___x

[MasterB4]

If you hadn't dropped them F bomb I could have shared this.

[Plomomedia]

@MasterB4 then i wouldn't have had a point to make.

[hammaann]

How about a vid about people inserting "like" into every sentence- even several times in the same sentence? They even BEGIN sentences with "like". It's infuriating!

[Plomomedia]

@hammaann if you find videos of people overusing it, please forward me the URL. I would definitely like to make a video on this topic, but i need videos to reference. thanks -st

[hammaann]

@Plomomedia It's everywhere. Any time the public is interviewed they insert "like" into about every sentence, especially if they are under 20. Latest I saw was a guy from the Reno airplane crash. I think he said "like" 3 times in the same sentence when taling about the incident. One hilarious example you might use is when the women on the show "THE TALK" did a segment on irritating things people say. They leff out the fact that THEY all say "like" constantly when THEY speak. Use clips of them.

[prb245158aac]

"I countnt care less" makes the exact oppisite of what people intend. If i were to use the prase "i couldn't care less",a grain of sand on a beach means more to me. I "could care less" about my wife however,I love her more than anything, but "could not care less" to learn Euskara, until im in dondinista Spain. If youve yet met a basque: visit. Saved my life, kindess people, try to explain origin of euskadi "they are said to understand one another, but I dont believe it at all" nicolas chamfort

[vitom27]

Hmmm, is it a testable? I run a race, you ask me how it went, I respond 'well, i didn't come last' implying that this was a close thing or I could descibe someone as 'not the fattest person Ive ever seen'. Conversational maxim of relevance springs to mind, 'I could care less' is assumed to provide relevant information which it only does on the basis of the (implicit) assumption that I don't care very much. Never heard 'I could care less', I like it, emphasis on 'could', 'I could hate you more!'

[Plomomedia]

@vitom27 great point. except: people dont mean it that way, and to effectively describe what you mean is the goal in language, isn't it? Unless the phrase were short for "I COULD care less, but then I'd probably just dissolve into porridge," or something.

[Kiddalee]

"I'm full of shit" made me laugh.

[Wedneswere]

This is a great observation... so, basically: you have a special prosodic template being adhered to; or we can call it a leitmotif, as in a segment of music used in an opera to denote this or that special thing - but sometimes one set of lyrics is used on this same piece of music, and sometimes another set of lyrics - but the melody stays the same... Another analysis: "could not care less" became" "couldn't care less", then unstressed "n't" fell once people forgot what the individual words mean.

[Ehwaz24]

These videos are extraordinary. Shrunk and white would be so proud.

Yeah, it looks more like the wind piece of a vaporizer.

[Ehwaz24]

These videos are extraordinary. Shrunk and White would be so proud.

Yeah, it looks more like wand piece of a vaporizer.

[lucehLOW]

He is totally gesticulating with a bong at .39

[Plomomedia]

@lucehLOW nuh uh! :)

[lucehLOW]

@Plomomedia I absolutely do not believe you. You even start laughing at yourself straight after! :p

[jmarckmoran]

Can we have one addressing the rampant misuse of quotes? Please!

[Plomomedia]

@jmarckmoran can you give me an example?

[jmarckmoran]

@Plomomedia

I recently received a card that signed off with, "Love," Dad, as one fine example. Check out the blog known as unnecessary quotes - it covers the issue. You Tube won't let me post the URL.

[Plomomedia]

@jmarckmoran haha. not real love. i'll definitely check it out, thanks.

[lightsoul007]

lol I like this theory

[rctriplefresh5]

i hate people who spell lose as loose and vice versa. or when people mix up ''and i'' with and me'' trying to sound intelligent. for example

correct - mom wanted to go to store with Michael and ME

incorrect- MOM wanted to go to the store with Michael and I.

as children we were taught to say ''and i'' and now people always say it trying to sound intelligent.

[Plomomedia]

@rctriplefresh5 great point, that kind of annoys me too. i will try to make a video on this subject. thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[0StrangeRover]

I think your idea about how "I couldn't care less" doesn't scan is interesting.

What I think is really going on is this: it started being used as a sarcastic statement. What was implied is "as if I could care any less." Somewhere along the line, I think people forgot to be sarcastic and are just dropping the phrase in as conversational shorthand. That's my hypothesis.

[Plomomedia]

@0StrangeRover good observation. I actually say it now, exactly as you described. at first i would say it with pause to be sarcastic, but now i just say it to mean that i dont even care enough to be grammatically correct.

[Scarecrow545]

Hahah this vid is hilarious, instant classic. Liked and favorited, nice work hahahaha.

[jduckworthable]

In english: I couldn't care less.

In yorkshire: I CUNT care less.

[blasianFMA]

I loved this video.

[RuaridhHunter]

Dude I just thought all Americans say that. I've often wondered though, nice one!

[AudriannaCole]

It was born out of sarcasm. Just like saying, "Yeah, I really care about that!" Yeah I could care less. Anyway... This is the beauty of language.. It changes.

[justwannahavfun19]

hahaahhaha

you're cute! :)

and thanks, I'm brazilian, so this helps me a lot!

[lissahxox]

lmfao

you say the same thing like a million times

i lovee itt

[Plomomedia]

@lissahxox

oh god, you should see the original recording before I edited it! i repeated myself ENDLESSLY.

[chinesemonk]

It's mostly people being lazy and abbreviating the phrase and/or learning it out of context and not thinking about it. Still, you're right about it not rolling off the tongue nicely. If I ever feel the need to express my lack of caring I simply use "I could not care less" which allows for a nice clean emphasis on the 'not' in the center.

[whitenegro88]

EVERYBODY! I'm about to logically justify the usage of I COULD CARE LESS!

First of all, I reject it having anything to do with emphasis! Well there is 1 part of it that has to do with emphasis...

"I could care less" makes perfect sense when you think of it as a THREAT or some kind of GOAL. read on to my next comment...

[whitenegro88]

I'll give you an example. When someone feels passionately about something, or in this case, very disinterested in something, they sometimes state a sort of claim that I can only describe as a threat.

[whitenegro88]

"Yeah I took the money, and I'd DO IT AGAIN, I tell ya"

In this case, "I could care LESS" (emphasis does play a role but in a different way) can be

"translated" to:

"I hate this so much, I already care so little about it, and if I really wanted to, I could care EVEN LESS! what difference does it make to me?"

If you are so indifferent about something, it wouldn't affect you to care even less about it than you already do.

[Plomomedia]

hey, i was asked to make a video on it. i personally couldn't care less.

[whitenegro88]

Come on, at least acknowledge that I have an interesting point, I'm not insulting you I just have a different take on it. And that comment wasn't very clever.

[Plomomedia]

you have

an

interesting

point.

i didnt really read your comment until now. yea you make a good point. you care so little that although you could care less, you're not going to bother to. i get it. clever. really though, i never gave a fuck. Maybe i should stick to making videos about topics that really interest me, until someone puts some cold hard cash in my hand.

[lizzinablack]

Ahaha, I heard this so many times I was almost thinking it was me to be mistaken :P Thanx as always ;)

[elpymppe]

Watching your video, I wonder if the people who say "I could care less" have added an extra layer of irony by not even caring if their phrasing is correct. Like, they care so little, they're not even bothering to get the grammar straight in their response.

But I'm not sure they're really that smart.

[Plomomedia]

good observation, and i think that's exactly right!

[TheEmpiricist]

Haha, perhaps a very tiny minority of the people who use the phrase think along those lines, but not the vast hordes of simple illiterates out there.

[fruitsofnews]

EXTREMELY hilarious! strange mixture of sense and uhhm...minor degree of insanity? ,

[Plomomedia]

I might agree with your diagnosis.

[smokeout3000]

you should totally do an observation on the "until" abbreviation. i always see the word till where it should be 'til. only one L and an apostrophe, you know?

[coMpLekS1]

interesting vid. makes sense too. sometimes i say it like "i coont care less"

[DerMetzgermeister3]

john cleese did a rant about this too, but this is just as convincing...maybe even more so. because humans actually do talk in rhythm...

[lunchboxboy]

Interesting theory, but I don't think so. I don't think people say "I could care LESS," I think most people say "I could CARE less."

I think it's the fact that "I couldn't care less" sounds almost double negative which confuses people so they get rid of the negative.

[KingsEcho]

There is a way to justify it. I could care less is sarcastic in the sence that they don't care enough to care less. It's just sarcastic. They see it as, I don't care enough to change my current level of care. srsly.

[kalaway]

This one is definitely one of my pet peeves.

I think it just comes from people speeding up the sentence and mashing it together, thus dropping syllables.

[NuclearConvoy]

Have you ever thought of doing a video on the "Like" problem? the one where people use "like" as a pause or in a non comparative form (granted, using it in the "I like X" method is fine).

[mattluc]

I'd love to see a bit on the rapidly dwindling usage of adverbs. It drives me nuts.

"I quick went to the store." Really?

[pinchaser]

@mattluc Seems to parallel the loss of participle forms.  People seem to say more often "I should have went" rather than what I learned as correct "I should have gone"

[emilyss]

educational and highly entertaining :-)

How about doing a bit on comparative/superlative adjectives? I can´t stand it when people say stuff like: she´s more brighter than me, or, that was the most cutest puppy. Don´t they get that the comparative/superlative is already built into the word??

[summerrain5]

Maybe i'm a noob but you're holding a smoking device around 00:40.

[Plomomedia]

it's technically not a smoking device. it's a "vaporizer"

[nick2191993]

in other words a smoking device you dumbass

[Plomomedia]

no, a vaporizer produces no smoke. it's a marijuana consuming device.

[nick2191993]

it still produces smoke

[NinaQueenofSpades]

I think I love you! One of my favorite things to do is to bug people about their grammar.

I'm curious as to where Observations #3-5 have gone.

[locuraelegantia]

Steve, what happened to irregardless? I wanted to show it to a colleague who uses it all the time, and now it's gone :(

[Plomomedia]

oh, i'm sorry. I got neurotic one day and decided to delete it. i will repost it.

[paddington444]

Youre funny man! :)

[gigaubuntu]

Some times I say is like this:

I Kounk care less. Saves that syllable you were talking about.

Or I say it a weird accent:

"I Cooouldiint Kaaaaaaare leeehhss!"

[GEORGETOWN93]

People that use say ABSOLUTELY to mean yes,absolutely can also be used for no.

[orwnacra]

"I couldn't care less" is NOT always incorrect. Here's why:

Suppose you have, for example, an Evangelical Christian who is 100% sure in his belief in God. And you ask him, "Could you care less [about God]?" and he'd say, "I couldn't care less" meaning that there are some times when a person is just completely incapable of caring an ounce less (because of strong beliefs towards it) than they already do. It's almost as if "could" and "would" meld together.

[melder2011]

did anyone say it was always incorrect? i looked but i couldnt find who you were replying to.

[Plomomedia]

I had meant in my video that it's completely wrong for the intended message. yes, grammatically, it's correct, but it grammatically means something opposite from what's intended.

[Petethegreat36]

it started out as sarcasm, and became ignorance because people started using it so much.

[HS22181]

Steve, I get it, you don''t give a fuck.  Would you take a fuck? You don't give a shit either and you say you are full of shit. Go take a shit and take care.

[atempleton461]

I hate it when people say that. I'm so glad you explained it. stay classy.

[cheezoid415]

it drives me mad! it's an american thing. i've also heard australians say it too. but nothing winds me up more THAN when people get than and then mixed up. even spelling them out. example... "i am taller then you" aaargh!

[you2besux]

its sarcasm

I could care less

[banananews13]

It's not sarcasm, it's ignorance; and by the way "its" is not the same as "it's" (it is)

[iamacyborg]

Here's some thing that irritate me; although I don't know if this is enough for a video:

Sometimes a person will use one word as a "Swiss army knife" to cover the meanings of many other words. For example, 'validate'.

Could you validate [verify] that the reports were submitted on time?

Could you validate [confirm] that I'm doing this correctly?

I see this a lot in business situations. Another irritating phrase is:

Could you speak to this item? [Could you talk about this item?]

[Aaron1975melbourne]

Good old business buzzwords! There's a whole dictionary on this, called "Weasel Words". People say these things because they want to sound important. The buzzword that irks me the most is "Could you please action that report..." No, but I'll write it!

[Plomomedia]

lol.

[964project]

You have to do one for 'off of'. It makes my skin crawl.

[Plomomedia]

used how? like "I getta get off of caffeine" ?

[964project]

The ball bounced off of the backboard

The students stepped off of the bleachers

The plane bounced off of the runway

The paper flew off of the desk.

Basically people are saying off of when they just mean off, and I was wondering if you knew of an explanation.

[Aaron1975melbourne]

How about one on extra words? This sounds like a similar problem with people using the word, "up":

Please write UP that report

Please lock UP the door

[Plomomedia]

good one. the issue is a little complex because "phrasal verbs" are a unique thing in English. Some "ups" are necessary; for example, there are fundamental differences between "take in" and "take up" and "take out" - but i agree with you that the 2 examples you provided do not require the 'up'. Again though, is language only about saying what's necessary - nothing more nor less - or is it about being stylistic too? anywy, good idea, i'll try to come up with smthn interesting to say abt it.

[Rookz]

You should do one on "should/would of". That is about as annoying to me as "I could care less".

[MasterTenku]

You are actually a really smart person. I have heard people say this and known it was incorrect, but I could never explain to them why it was incorrect or why it is that they are saying the wrong thing. You should be on TV or some shit =)

[passionate4pens]

you are my hero. seriously.

[mundanelifeof]

Hi! You made SOME good points, but you also made the phrase more complicated than it is... Here's my 2 cents: some people say "I could care less" to emphasize that they really do not care so much to the point that no matter what you do or say, they'd care less even more... if that makes sense, in a direct way at all... it's kind of like irony, but it's not. It could also be taken as sarcasm. So really, "I could care less" is NOT grammatically wrong; it's only wrong in certain contexts.

[Plomomedia]

it's true, the phrase is not grammatically incorrect, but it is literally saying something that they are not intending to say. and I dont think the people who are saying it intend some kind of double layered irony or anything.

[mundanelifeof]

I actually say it interchangeably with "I couldn't care less," and it really depends on the context of use and what I intend to imply when talking to different people :) ...But I do know what you mean when SOME people say it and don't literally know what they're saying.

[964project]

I think you're completely wrong. The use of it sarcastically is limited to the few who actually use grammar correctly. Virtually all uses of this phrase occur when the speaker meant the opposite - and they didn't mean it sarcastically.

[964project]

note - the "completely wrong" response was directed at mundanelifeof, not to Plomomedia.

Also, I actually do use .. / .. for 'I don't give a fuck'. I don't GIVE a fuck. I think my usage is actually far more common, at least in the areas where I've lived.

[mundanelifeof]

OK? I also said, "it depends on the context of use." So, on which part am I "completely wrong"? Hmm.

[mundanelifeof]

964project: Uhh. Okaaay... How am I "completely wrong" when what YOU said is just what I implied? - This is what you said: "The use of it sarcastically is limited to the few who actually use grammar correctly." ----> This is what I said: "Some people say "I could care less" to emphasize that they really do not care so much to the point that no matter what you do or say, they'd care less even more... it's kind of like irony, but it's not. It could also be taken as sarcasm." -- I said "SOME."

[964project]

I'm sure I've heard this phrase many thousands of times and I have never heard it used in the way you describe. You said SOME in relation to the people who use it incorrectly, which is just simply completely wrong.  The vast majority of its use is not intended sarcastically.

And my question to you is why ever use it incorrectly? It just perpetuates an annoying trend. What do you get from saying it that isn't expressed when you say it correctly?

[NeutralPlanet]

I always correct ppl when they say I could care less with then why don't you! I couldn't care less is the way I say it.

[onixz100]

The reason why dumb people say "I could care less" is because:

1) It was "I could not care less," but that was shortened to "I couldn't care less."

2) People heard the expression "I couldn't care less" being said, but didn't fully catch what they were hearing... And just heard: "I could care less" since there's no emphasis on the "'nt" of "couldn't."

Finally, most people are too dumb to critically think over what they're saying, so they continue to say stupid shit like that.

[onixz100]

There are other examples of this too, where people hear an expression but don't know what the person is actually saying... and so they approximate it to what they think they heard (without thinking it through logically).

I had many examples, just can't think of them now... But it's the same concept as "Duct tape" vs "Duck tape."

[Plomomedia]

true.

I used to say "mine as well" instead of "might as well"

[iamacyborg]

When the waveform came up I had to laugh.

[blablablix]

Wow, never thought of it in musical terms before. This is something that I've been correcting people on since I was a kid though!!

[mesto87]

hahaha, i hear this all the time, my usual response is, then do so by all means, care less...

[dorotwhy]

BIG pet peeve! When I hear it I cringe. Your video in its rappish way may get through to those who could care less.

[roji56]

Great stuff -- keep it up!

[Enter1Name1Here]

If you're talking about grammatical errors then, I could've sworn you wrote "I dont" instead of "I don't". ^_^

[Tenetri]

xD I love these videos. LOVE THEM.

I made a loop in audacity of you saying to the beat... "I don't give a fuck, I don't give a fuck, I don't give a fuck" and looped it for 7 minutes. Its freakin amazing =3

everyones full of shit! Hooray

[Plomomedia]

maybe throw some I-dont-give-a-shit's in there for good measure! :)

[jackhartcup]

just how stoned were you?

[Rookz]

Great as usual.

It always irks me when people say "I could care less".

[Sakunelaj]

You COULD use "I could care less" in a sentence, but it would have to be followed up with something, rendering it more of an insult than you dismissing a point. I think it should be followed with a "but" to make the phrase credible.

I could care less, but that would put me in the negative for caring, and I'd have to care in the first place.

That sentence (or some other cleverly put thought) deviates from what the user of that phrase intends, but I think that's the best way to use that phrase.

[Plomomedia]

great points.

"I could care less, but..." (that would put me in the negative for caring) --- hilarious!

[AcryllicWonder]

I dont care

I dont give a shit!

[sandricdoliba]

awesome. for some reason this always bugged the hell out of me.

[bwana2567]

One of my pet peeves. Thanks.

[pimanrules]

Err... Did no one point out that you used dont instead of don't? Anyways, think for making this video. This is one thing that I HATE!

[Plomomedia]

i like your keen observation! may i refer you to an earlier video of mine: episode #2 (The misuse of apostrophes) - where I suggest that omitting an apostrophe is more acceptable than using one where not appropriate.

[Laogeodritt]

True as that may be, isn't the ideal (and certainly not a difficult ideal, in most cases) to use it correctly? ;D

[benskutnik]

Anyways is not a proper word...

[DevanWastesTime]

Did no one point out that you, Pimanrules, used "think" instead of "thanks"?

If you are going to point out someone's grammatical errors, make sure you don't make any.

[eifersucht12a]

A perfect example of the rhythm theory is heard in the song "Anna Molly" by Incubus. The chorus blatantly states "I could care less" but it wouldn't work any other way, rhythmically. I still can't help noticing it every single time and it screws up an otherwise amazing song.

[Plomomedia]

awesome, i will definitely check out that song. wish i had known about it before I made this video - i might have incorporated it into the argument.

thanks.

[DirtyFreakingMexican]

I fucking love this guy in a completely hetero way

[0platypus0venom0]

I fucking love this guy in a completely homo way.

[hadrians]

good stuff

[cooleycole93]

OMG you did the one I asked for!!! Thank you so much :D

[acromel]

You'll have to think of some of our really weird British ones for future episodes ;o)

Maybe from a Guy Ritchie film - naw, that might be a bit too weird :o)

[cooleycole93]

*Others and I.

[acromel]

You scared me there for a minute - I thought you were going to launch into a rap!

I first heard `could care less' in the West Wing - and they should know better!

To my (English) ears it's just horrible. Another one that we frequently use is: `I couldn't give a toss' and you're definitely right about the percussive rhythm of it. I just loses its effect without the right delivery.

You guys over the pond give a different emphasis to `fuck off' as well. It just doesn't seem as satisfying somehow.

[Plomomedia]

if i were only as talented as that, to break into freestyle rap, i would have!

[acromel]

Satirical grammar videos are a far nobler calling.

Please, keep them coming. :o)

[Zedwork]

This one honestly hurts me whenever i hear it. No-one seems to comprehend when I try and correct them :(

[cooleycole93]

I know. I was almost convinced that *I* was wrong at one point as I heard it so much! I've even heard it in a song; I can't remember which one though, which is annoying.

[cooleycole93]

*so often ;)

[jorgeblam]

I love these - fuckin' hilarious.