Local Pub Trivia Night Erupts After ‘I Could Care Less’ Comment Sparks Linguistic Civil War

Skey Waverley | Social Reporter | Sutherland Shire Gazette

14 May 2025

GYMEA - What started as a friendly pub trivia session last night quickly descended into chaos after one participant uttered the phrase “I could care less,” triggering what experts are calling “the most passive-aggressive grammar debate the Shire has seen since the Great Your vs You’re Incident of 2019.”

Witnesses say the phrase was dropped casually during a heated round on 90s pop culture, but the fallout was immediate.

“She said it with full confidence,” said local pedant Karen from Kirrawee, who had to be restrained with a bar mat. “But if you could care less, then you do care. That’s just maths.”

The debate soon spiralled into a broader linguistic meltdown, with arguments erupting over classics such as “for all intensive purposes,” “irregardless,” and “could of.” One man reportedly stormed out after being corrected for saying “pacific” instead of “specific.”

“I didn’t come here for this,” said Rob from Caringbah. “I just wanted to get a schnitty and yell out ‘Shania Twain’ once.”

Trivia host Dave, who doubles as a high school English teacher, was seen silently shaking his head and muttering “this is why I drink.”

By 9:30pm, the grammar purists had formed a splinter group and refused to continue until the phrase “literally dying” was used in a medically accurate context.

The pub has since introduced a new rule banning all idioms during trivia rounds and offering bonus points for correct apostrophe use.

Meanwhile, the original friend who said “I could care less” remains unfazed. “I literally died,” she said. “Whatever that means.”

Correction: The Sutherland Shire Gazette regrets to inform readers that the phrase is, in fact, still wrong. Irregardless.