CARELESS

A friend asked for a substitute phrase to use rather than  "I couldn't care less."

I never use either of the phrases "I couldn't care less" and "I could care less" because I find both of them to be nonsensical.

Below is an explanation I'm borrowing from Common Errors In English Usage by Paul Brian:

COULD CARE LESS
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I COULDN'T CARE LESS


The expression "I COULDN'T CARE LESS" originally meant: "It would be impossible for me to care less than I do because I do not care at all" is rendered senseless by being transformed into the now-common "I COULD CARE LESS".

IF one COULD care less, that means one could care some! The original "I couldn't care less" already dripped sarcasm, so it's pointless to argue that the newer version is "ironic".

The original expression "I couldn't care less" was a British saying and came to the U.S. in the 1950s. The inverted form "I could care less" was coined in the U.S. and was first recorded in print in 1966. The question is--something caused the negative to vanish even while the original form of the expression was still very much in vogue and available for comparison--so what was it?

People who misuse the phrase are obviously just being CARELESS!