richwarm Posted December 6, 2011 at 11:02 PM Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 at 11:02 PM Regarding "could care less" and "couldn't care less" (supposedly) having the same meaning ~ to table v.t. 1 (US) to postpone discussion of something 2 (UK) to propose something for discussion ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbradfor Posted December 6, 2011 at 11:30 PM Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 at 11:30 PM [off topic, sooooo off topic....] Not as bad as "cleave". flammable vs inflammable isn't too bad either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted December 7, 2011 at 03:00 AM Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 at 03:00 AM [ offtopic ]so "bone" vs "unbone" is not too bad either?[ /offtopic] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hofmann Posted December 7, 2011 at 01:00 PM Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 at 01:00 PM Let me just say that "I could care less" is in the minority in my part of the US. It almost makes sense, i.e. "I care now, but I wish I didn't." But eh, I'm not an English major. Get thee to Wikipedia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realmayo Posted December 7, 2011 at 01:23 PM Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 at 01:23 PM Kind of reminds me of (no Chinese characters here) hao rongyi = hao bu rongyi. Edit: sorry for offtopic haaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbradfor Posted December 7, 2011 at 02:30 PM Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 at 02:30 PM so "bone" vs "unbone" is not too bad either? I can't speak for others, but I think "debone" is more common than "unbone" around here. But yes, I like that example too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymoose Posted December 7, 2011 at 02:36 PM Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 at 02:36 PM And what does "bone" (as a verb) mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muirm Posted December 7, 2011 at 02:48 PM Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 at 02:48 PM I would guess it means inserting the bone into the meat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realmayo Posted December 7, 2011 at 03:09 PM Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 at 03:09 PM erm, that is a newer meaning.... then of course there's the verb to dust, which means to remove dust, and the verb to dust, which means to add dust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbradfor Posted December 7, 2011 at 03:35 PM Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 at 03:35 PM And what does "bone" (as a verb) mean? The non-vulgar meaning is "to remove the bones from <bone a fish>" ( see http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bone?show=1&t=1323272020 ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestTexas Posted December 7, 2011 at 04:25 PM Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 at 04:25 PM I've never heard anyone say 'unbone' ever... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hofmann Posted December 8, 2011 at 07:13 AM Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 at 07:13 AM Nah..."bone" means 撞. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liuzhou Posted December 8, 2011 at 12:03 PM Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 at 12:03 PM According to the esteemed Steven Pinker, in his book The Language Instinct: "I could care less" is irony (or sarcasm), whereas "I couldn't care less" is literal. Therefore the meanings are the same, just as "Oh great!" can mean you are happy at the news you just received, or with a different intonation that you are not happy at all. I think that was certainly the case when the expression "I could care less" first appeared. Since then it seems to have become relatively standard among a certain group of people, particularly in the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creamyhorror Posted December 8, 2011 at 03:05 PM Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 at 03:05 PM "I could care less" is irony (or sarcasm), whereas "I couldn't care less" is literal. Therefore the meanings are the same, just as "Oh great!" can mean you are happy at the news you just received, or with a different intonation that you are not happy at all. Yeah, I've heard this explanation before a few times. If it really were sarcasm, it would be said in a sarcastic tone, rather than the automatic way it's said the (few) times I've heard it. I think it's just become a fixed expression that many people don't think about now. I find 好容易 weird, although I know it's considered correct. We always say 好不容易 here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liuzhou Posted December 8, 2011 at 03:14 PM Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 at 03:14 PM I think it's just become a fixed expression that many people don't think about now. Yes. that is what I said! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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