Yes, I mean just that. I care a fair amount, so there is the potential for me to have less care. About what? About the recent proliferation of the statement “I could care less”. I care, because what people usually mean when they say or write this is, “I couldn’t care less.” - that is, “I care so little (e.g. not at all), that it is impossible for me to care any less.” Indeed, they could not care less; so severe is their apathy that they don’t even care if what they are saying makes any sense.

My response to “I could care less” is, “How much less could you care?” After all, if on a 0 (zero) to 10 scale, 10 being totally passionate about a subject, my level of care is a “10″, then I could care less. If my level of care is .000000137, there is still the potential for me to care less. “I could care less” is utterly ambiguous. It communicates nothing to the reader/listener other than one’s carelessness with the English language.

Using the same 0 (zero) to 10 scale, the (correct) statement, “I couldn’t care less” tells you that my level of care is zero. It is definitive. That said, I have a better idea: Instead of trying to be clever by stating the inverse conclusion, why not simply say, “I don’t care”. After all, if using a meaningful statement is too intellectually tasking (as evidenced by the aforementioned carelessness), this latter solution involves one less syllable, and more closely resembles the sentiment that it expresses. Granted, it seems a bit more vulgar (you may need to consult a dictionary for that one), but I find it far less offensive than the blatant corruption of an already hackneyed expression.