Benny Hill wrote:
"m II" wrote in message news:O7tgk.432$%b7.392@edtnps82...
Benny Hill wrote:

And he could have cared less.
You mean "He COULDN'T have cared less".

What you wrote means he cares NOW, so he COULD have cared less.

I he COULDN'T care less, it means he doesn't give a damn now, so it's
impossible to care any less.


Glad to be of help.


mike


Actually, the phrase "could have" in the kings english has historically
been used in the past tense. See:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/le...rnitv195.shtml

Glad to be of service in correcting your incorrectness



"Clichés are especially prone to scrambling because they become
meaningless through overuse. In this case an expression which 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.” Think about it: if you could care less,
that means you care some. The original already drips sarcasm, so it’s
pointless to argue that the newer version is “ironic.” People who misuse
this phrase are just being careless."
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/care.html