On Mon, 7 Dec 2020 23:15:10 +0000 (UTC),
to...@mountifield.org (Tony
Mountifield) wrote:
>In article <
1bLFo0BshgzfFw5R@jhall_nospamxx.co.uk>,
>John Hall <
jo...@jhall.co.uk> wrote:
>> Why have people increasingly taken to saying "I could care less" when
>> they mean "I couldn't care less"? Can't they see that "I could care
>> less" ought logically to mean that they care a substantial amount?
>
>It's an Americanism. I agree it doesn't make sense.
>
>Cheers
>Tony
I don't like it either, but it can make sense as irony.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony#Verbal_irony
Verbal irony is a statement in which the meaning that a speaker
employs is sharply different from the meaning that is ostensibly
expressed. An ironic statement usually involves the explicit
expression of one attitude or evaluation, but with indications in
the overall speech-situation that the speaker intends a very
different, and often opposite, attitude or evaluation.
From Oxford's Lexico:
https://www.lexico.com/definition/irony
The expression of one's meaning by using language that normally
signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in uk.culture.language.english)