[TGS]

There is a phrase in English, "I couldn't care less", which means, roughly, I care so little about this that I cannot imagine caring any less about it - "I couldn't care less about the fate of Manchester United" means I do not care at all about the fate of Manchester United.

Of late I have noticed the phrase, "I could care less" Now. on the face of it "I could care less" means the opposite of "I couldn't care less". The least it means is that my level of caring about this issue could be less than it is, in other words, I care...to some extent. "I could care less about the fate of Manchester United", seems to mean that I care to some extent about the fate of Manchester United.

What is confusing is, it seems from the context in which it appears, that "I could care less" is used to mean what "I couldn't care less" means - in other words, "I don't care".

Does anybody know how this has arisen and how it is that, without irony, a phrase can come to be used to mean the opposite of what it does mean?