Brits are raging over common four-word phrase Americans 'always get wrong'

A phrase commonly used by Americans has riled some British people up because it’s being said “wrong”. There’s vast differences between other countries and cultures, even among places that share the same language like the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States of America.

English is a complex language that’s notoriously difficult to learn, especially for non-native speakers. This is due to its litany of contradictory grammar rules, an extensive vocabulary with multiple synonyms, inconsistencies among the spelling and pronunciation of many, many words; and more.

The eclectic and wildly diverse assortment of regional accents and dialects found up and down the country can also be a cause of further confusion.

• Man pops question to girlfriend but people are 'mortified' by how he proposed
• Dani Dyer addresses dreaded 'Strictly curse' months after marrying Jarrod Bowen

Some quintessentially British phrases become common parlance in other countries, though may be edited and adapted over time. This appears to be the case with “I couldn’t care less”.

This idiom, when said correctly, is “used to indicate that one is not at all concerned about or interested in something”, as per Merriam-Webster.

However, in America, “I could care less” has become a commonly accepted variant, even though “it seems illogical”.

Saying you “could care less” indicates you could, in fact, care a lot less which suggests you must care a little, though the phrase is meant to convey an entire lack of care about something.

On Reddit’s popular Ask UK forum, one person posted the question: “What is something that everyone gets wrong that you don't understand why everyone gets it wrong?”

Many fellow Brits were keen to share their thoughts, but several were quick to blast the American version of the common idiom.

One person simply said: “On this note, I could care less. Means you do care.”

Another replied: “This is what I came to say too. It is used so commonly by Americans that it is almost a saying in its own right. But it still makes no sense to me how people think that is the right way to say it.”

A third joked: “I could care less. THAT WAS SARCASM”, with the latter part of their comment referring to the rebuttal some people use to justify using “I could care less” instead of “I couldn’t care less”.

Someone else replied: “I literally wet myself laughing at that.”

Another quipped: “Epic self preservation my friend."

And another agreed: “This. This is what annoys me. I realise it’s a US way of saying it, but surely ‘I couldn’t care less’, as we say in the U.K., is the grammatically correct phrase?!”

One Reddit user added: “There are a few saying that it’s because it’s an idiom. That makes it even worse.”

Comedian David Mitchell ranted about this phrase on his comedy series, David Mitchell’s Soapbox, with a video titled “Dear America” posted on YouTube in 2010.

In the footage, which has amassed more than 3.8 million views, he joked the Queen had asked him “to have a quick word with you on her behalf about her English”.

Mitchell referenced American words and phrases that made perfect sense - such as “sidewalk” instead of pavement, or “trunk” instead of a car boot - and then joked the Queen “couldn’t care less” about those things.

He then launched into his spiel: “Not she could care less. That’s the one thing she’d really like you to stop saying because that, as an expression for not or hardly caring, just makes no sense.

“If you could care less about something, then all you’re telling us is that you do care at least a little bit because you could care less.”

Mitchell added: “I could care less is absolutely useless as an indicator of how much you care because the only thing it rules out is that you don’t care at all, which is exactly what you’re trying to convey.”