The West Wing

The West Wing (1999)

1 mistake in The Al Smith Dinner - chronological order

(7 votes)

The Al Smith Dinner - S7-E6

Continuity mistake: When Josh tells Lou that women should support Republicans, we're on day two, and the scene that comes up right after that is at the White House when Will is about to give another press conference, but if you look at it, Will, C.J., Margaret and the press are all wearing different clothes, even though it's the same day as the two previous press conferences Will gave.

Eduardo Sánchez Rodríguez

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In Excelsis Deo - S1-E10

Question: This is as good a place to ask as any. In various US TV shows (including this one, and this episode), someone says "I could care less", when they always seem to mean "I couldn't care less", ie. they have no interest in what's going on. Surely if they COULD care less that means they actually care a reasonable amount? Is there any logic to this, or is it just a really annoying innate lack of sense?

Jon Sandys

Chosen answer: A really annoying innate lack of sense. My friends and family say the same thing all the time, and I'm endlessly trying to correct them. I think people just don't know any better and (ironically) couldn't care less that they're speaking incorrectly.

Answer: It's an endlessly annoying dropped negative, and it's been a common colloquialism for far too long. I believe it comes from an original (and now omitted and merely implied) "As if" preceding the statement. "As if I could care less." (Meaning "As if it were possible that I could care even less than I do.") But there's really no way to know.

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