> > > > It might be a local idiom, but I hear people say, "I could care less." I think it means they don't care at all, but it confuses me. Shouldn't they say, "I couldn't care less."?
> > > > Howard
> > >
> > > It isn't local. It's universal, and extremely STUPID. I hear the same thing everywhere I go -- even catch myself saying it, for Pete's sake -- and it irritates me to no end.
> > >
> >
> > I have to agree with this. Everytime I hear someone say this, I want to strangle them. But it's accepted now because it's used all the time, so "it must be right." Grr.
> >
> > > On the topic of nonsensical idioms, who exactly is "Pete", and why should we be doing all these things for his sake?
> > >
> >
> > Saint Peter, perhaps? Although I still don't know why we should do things for his sake.
>
> Now you went and did it. I was perfectly happy staying away from this thread, especially since I have so many peeves regarding the mangling of the language that picking one to actually be the "pet" would be impossible. But now you did it. You went and said, "...it's accepted now because it's used all the time" and that just set me off.
> Okay, here it is: "All the sudden." Where in the H-E-double hockey stick did that come from? I realize when you say, "all of a sudden" very quckly, it sounds a lot like, "allva sudden." But "all THE sudden?"
>
> Please, can't we all just switch to "suddenly," before I go nuts?????
>
> Love,
> Mousie

Come to think of it, I don't even get "all of a sudden" that much.