Timeline for 'Give a damn' OR 'Don't give a damn'?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
14 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jul 9, 2017 at 21:01 | comment | added | WhatRoughBeast | I'm dubious about your couldn't/could care less example. In my experience, "I could care less" is always spoken in a tone of voice which indicates the exercise of irony. But that might just be me. | |
| Jul 18, 2016 at 20:44 | comment | added | Mikkel | I could absolutely say "I give a damn about economic inequality" to mean that I care, but even without any context the implication of the phrase is that I am contrasting myself against another group of people who I am suggesting do not give a damn. I don't think it's usable in a sense that does not express negativity towards someone. | |
| Nov 18, 2014 at 6:55 | comment | added | Lucian Sava | I forgot it. +1, especially for your hard and consistent work. | |
| Nov 18, 2014 at 5:32 | comment | added | Maulik V | @Jim your example further raises many questions! I must give a damn about it! :P | |
| Nov 17, 2014 at 18:14 | comment | added | Jim | @LucianSava- Consider this exchange: "We should ask her for money. She won't give us any she doesn't give a damn about us. Right, what we have to do is find something she does give a damn about" | |
| Nov 17, 2014 at 15:38 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | That "always used in the negative" is obviously rubbish - why should I give a damn about an assertion that apparently prevents me from writing this sentence? | |
| Nov 17, 2014 at 14:12 | comment | added | jimsug | @LucianSava Yeah, it can be tricky separating the semantics from the feelings that it evokes... part of the reason I need to say "non-negated" rather than "positive" is precisely because "positive" has the connotation that something is good, but in that third wiki example, it isn't. | |
| Nov 17, 2014 at 14:09 | comment | added | Lucian Sava | I see your point and agree with it but it’s so complicated. | |
| Nov 17, 2014 at 14:07 | history | edited | jimsug | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
minor edits and added a tl;dr because my answer's quite long
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| Nov 17, 2014 at 14:00 | history | edited | jimsug | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
minor edits and added a tl;dr because my answer's quite long
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| Nov 17, 2014 at 13:56 | comment | added | jimsug | @LucianSava Updated; also, a negative connotation is not the same as being negated. The third example in wiki, "If she actually gave a damn what the law said, she wouldn't have stolen the car in the first place, now would she?" can only work because it has a different meaning when negated - it doesn't have the same meaning if it meant "if she actually didn't care, she wouldn't have stolen the car in the first place, now would she?" I think give a damn, in that situation, must mean "cared", rather than "didn't care". | |
| Nov 17, 2014 at 13:53 | history | edited | jimsug | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
added 2217 characters in body
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| Nov 17, 2014 at 13:29 | comment | added | Lucian Sava | I’d rather question Wiki’s assertion. All Wiki’s examples bear a negative connotation. Can we value, appreciate, care about something by giving a damn on it? | |
| Nov 17, 2014 at 12:14 | history | answered | jimsug | CC BY-SA 3.0 |