Why is it that Americans say "I could care less"

[fiddleronvermouth]

I'm wondering if someone can explain it?

I could: careless.

Astounding!

By the way, ICohen, you haven't touched a nerve, I'm not American. I'm just *cough* "taking the piss."

[Mitch]

Actually, while we're on the topic, I always wondered why Australians said "I couldn't be f_____ed" instead of "I didn't."
...
Also, why is it that when you send my friends home after your big Comedy festival, you make them pronounce "Melbourne" and "Cairns" as "MELbn" and "CAAns".
And what is an "arvo"?
...

I've not found "I couldn't be f_____ed" to be very common - It perplexes me when I hear it as well - there's a lot of such utterances concerning copulation that seem to reveal the speaker as being either a virgin who hasn't got a clue what they're talking about or a pervert who assumes others understand what they're talking about.

I always thought it was Melbun - Caans is correct

"arvo" - is usually "sarvo" as in "be down the footy sarvo." Arvo get's used by people trying to sound more striyne than they realy are - as in "you at the footy Sundy arvo? Any self respecting striyne would say "Footy Sundy?" - saying arvo is a waste of 2 sylables - when it's their shout you could die of bloody thirst. (and expletives are what breath was invented for).

"Impeccable" - what a wierd word - I saw a bloke once was impeccable - had an ice-cream bucket on his head to keep the magies off.

[Innocent Bystander]

It's a strange thing regarding "f___k". Its current meaning is apparently "to copulate with" or "to mess up".
But its archaic meaning (here in the 12th Century) is "to beat".

The thing that strikes me as strange is that when you hear it used today (not the 12th Century) the archaic meaning makes more sense.
Maybe I'm not the only one living in the 12th Century...

[bradhurley]

"Impeccable" - what a wierd word - I saw a bloke once was impeccable - had an ice-cream bucket on his head to keep the magies off.

I had a friend who used to say, "my pecker is untimeable" instead of "my timing is impeccable."

The late Johnny Cunningham was a proponent of using the word "gruntled" to mean the opposite of "disgruntled." More than once I heard him say, "I'm having a great day, I feel really gruntled."

Made sense to me.

The expression "upside down" makes me think of a small boy I knew who would always say, "it's up the wrong side down, Mommy." He also used to say "fridge-up-idator" for "refrigerator," a term that I still use today.

[Congratulations]

"fridge-up-idator"

I just did the gay inhale over that one. You know, the one that says, "Not only am I homosexual, but I am very surprised!"

At any rate, I love it, and plan to use it FOREVER.

[ICohen]

By the way, ICohen, you haven't touched a nerve, I'm not American. I'm just *cough* "taking the piss."

I gathered that, hence the silly, nit-picking response followed by !



Ian