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I didn't list the reasons because I had already typed them out, but I accidentally closed the tab and lost all my work. So I just left it at that.

http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001202.html
http://www.yaelf.com/aueFAQ/mifcouldcareless.shtml

Basically, it appears to be a case of "care less" developing a negative meaning and then dropping the existing redundant negative. The latter link gives examples of other phrases that have had similar transitions. I should also be noted that the French "ne...pas" construction is not an isolated example of a positive word becoming negative and then losing the original negation element. French has a whole host of words in that category: jamais, point, que, personne, rien. English, German and Dutch went through periods of having double (and sometimes triple or quadruple) negatives, similar to the "ne...pas" construction in French, which were later simplified by the removal of the "ne" at the beginning. In German, this kind of change left us with "es sei denn" meaning "unless" and "weder...noch..." meaning "neither...nor...". The negative particle disappeared during the early modern German period, but the negative meaning remained.

You may say "that's all fine and dandy, but it could just be an example of abject stupidity across time and language". However, these types of changes appear to be systematic and logical, taken in the proper context. The transfer from "je ne sai" to "je ne sais pas" to "je sais pas" is fairly reasonable when you consider the semantics. In the first, you have simple negation. In the second, you add an intensifier. That intensifier only ends up showing up with a negative, so it takes on a negative meaning (seems like a reasonable semantic shift). We now have two negative elements in the sentence, so the weaker one is removed, reducing redundancy. Sensible, logical and it leads to clarity and simplification. Maybe the middle steps are a bit weird, but the end point is reasonable.

I have no complaints about the substance of your message; I agree.

"The die is cast" references back to a famous saying by Julius Caesar. His original statement meant something like "I am now committed to a gamble and must wait to see how it comes out." The "die" in question would be the singular of "dice", and "cast" in this context means "thrown"; "the dice have been rolled" would be a similar statement.

For years I thought it meant something to do with manufacturing a tool for a machine shop, or something.

Oh wups I just checked and there is a FAQ about this: http://www.yaelf.com/aueFAQ/mifdiecast.shtml

Anyway a better phrase would have been "Enter the iPod, and game over." Or "...and their fate was sealed."

Have a great weekend, and keep slashdotting.

And now we get to rename Anonymous Coward to Anonymous Ignoramus, since "to call a spade a spade" is not a racial slur:

It derives from an ancient Greek expression: ta syka syka, te:n skaphe:n de skaphe:n onomasein = "to call a fig a fig, a trough a trough". This is first recorded in Aristophanes' play The Clouds (423 B.C.), was used by Menander and Plutarch, and is still current in modern Greek.

... or at least don't post AC when making such assertions.

In some circles, your 'spade a spade' comment might be considered racial in tone. But not in all. In fact, it is certain that it did NOT originate as a way of refering to blacks. It is possible that the term got "adopted" by racists in the same way that "gay" got adopted by homosexuals.

For a little history on the phrase , click here

Oh good, I can put all that experience at Simple English Wikipedia to good use.

"People who are liked by people who like computers and the Internet are very happy about web pages that post stories that are chosen without a lot of good reasons."

Bleh. I think I'll save that for the kindergarteners and ESL students.

Three cheers for an evolving language!

A widespread false belief among those who spell the word "aluminium" is that theirs is the original spelling, from which the American version is a later development, perhaps resulting from a typographical error. The CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (63rd ed., p. B-5) gives this bit of history:

The ancient Greeks and Romans used alum in medicine as an astringent, and as a mordant in dyeing. In 1761 [Baron Louis- Bernard Guyton] de Morveau proposed the name alumine for the base in alum, and [Antoine] Lavoisier, in 1787, thought this to be the oxide of a still undiscovered metal. [...] In 1807, [Sir Humphrey] Davy proposed the name alumium for the metal, undiscovered at that time, and later agreed to change it to aluminum. Shortly thereafter, the name aluminium was adopted to conform with the "ium" ending of most elements, and this spelling is now in use elsewhere in the world. Aluminium was also the accepted spelling in the U.S. until 1925, at which time the American Chemical Society officially decided to use the name aluminum thereafter in their publications.

Fewer fewer fewer fewer fewer fewer fewer fewer! Not Less! Fewer!

Jury-rigged or Jerry-rigged are both valid with slightly different meanings http://www.yaelf.com/aueFAQ/mifjrrybltjryrggd.shtm l

consoles just don't cut the muster

Did you intentionally mix this metaphor? If not, you probably meant 'pass muster'. Alternatively, you might have meant 'cut the mustard'. Either way, you don't 'cut the muster'.

Cut the mustard

Pass Muster

Please don't flame me. I'm just trying to help; I'm not intending any disparagement whatsoever. You are, of course, free to ignore my advice entirely.

Language changes and as this usage is now the most commonly
heard use of the phrase (to invite the obvious question). It would seem that you are quickly becoming wrong. I believe this usage has made it into the The Oxford Guide to English Usage but as I am at work I will have to look it up when I get home.

"This begs the question..."

beg the question

to beg the question - definition by dict.die.net

How to (and how not to) Beg the Question. From "On Language: Semantitheft," by William Safire. The New York Times, May 13, 2001

"the performance hit is due to bounds checking in the code, so it begs the question: Would you prefer a slower app that has more security..."

NO, IT DOESN'T:

beg the question

to beg the question - definition by dict.die.net

How to (and how not to) Beg the Question. From "On Language: Semantitheft," by William Safire. The New York Times, May 13, 2001

sure, the actual saying is "Bob's Your Uncle", and look at this

What I said above was just a variation, as many are commonly used

I disagree

You understand it incorrectly. The orient/orientate distinction has nothing to do with direct or indirect objects. They are essentially synonymous -- the distinction is an issue of usage.

"Orientate" is typically used more often when speaking of physical orientation. "Orient" would probably have been more appropriate for the conceptual orientation that is being discussed in this case. Either is acceptable, though.

I don't know if this is authoritative, but it was the first relevant Google hit and my boss is bugging me for a report.

I would have bet on 'toe' anyway because of the connotation of staying in rigid (con)formation. FWIW, YMMV IMNSHO.

GTRacer
- What do you get if you combine Access's flexibility and Crystal's ease of layout?