A man who moved to Kingsport, Tennessee, was puzzled when he offered one of his new neighbors a refill on her beverage. She said “I wouldn’t care to have any,” which he understood to be a refusal. What she meant was that she did want another glass. Turns out in that part of the country “I wouldn’t care to” can mean “I would like to,” the key word being care, as in “mind” or “be bothered.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “”I Wouldn’t Care To””
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hi, my name’s Charlie Sorrells. I’m calling from Kingsport, Tennessee.
I especially like A Way with Words because I’m always learning something.
Oh, yeah, that’s what we’re trying to do. I’m glad it’s working.
What’s on your mind?
We had invited our new neighbors over for dessert and drinks, and after a while I asked each person if they wanted a refill. One woman said she didn’t care to have any. I refilled everyone else’s and sat down. And then she asked, well, where was hers? And I said, well, you didn’t want any because you said I don’t care to have any.
I rarely hear this expression, but have also heard it in the context of someone coming to your home and saying, I wouldn’t care to have that lamp. They mean it, of course, as a compliment rather than an insult.
Speaking of lamps, I’m hoping you can shed some light on this thing and where it comes from and how widely is it used.
Yeah, isn’t that weird saying I wouldn’t care to and it means to be willing, to be pleased. It’s like I don’t mind to, like I wouldn’t care to take you to the store, right?
Right.
And so you’ve only heard it in East Tennessee, but where else did you live in the South?
Well, I’ve lived in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia.
Okay, so mostly the deep south then.
Right.
Yeah, because there is this feature, this dialectal feature that you find in the Midlands, more like Kentucky, Tennessee, western North Carolina, some in Missouri. It’s exactly the construction that you’re talking about. And it sounds like it means the opposite of what you’re saying, right?
Right.
And I still have to think about it when I hear it. Is this a yes or a no?
I don’t.
Right. It’s a double negative, it seems to me.
Right.
Well, what’s really cool is that this construction goes all the way back to England in the 1500s, if you can believe that.
Wow.
Yeah. In fact, Shakespeare used it this way. In Henry V, the chief justice says, I care not if I do become your physician, meaning I wouldn’t mind being your doctor. So it’s the idea of I wouldn’t mind.
Well, again, I’ve never heard it before this area. And this area uses, I’ve even been asked, do I want to poke, which I knew what that was. But I haven’t heard somebody really ask that question when you’re at a store.
You were at a store and someone asked if you wanted a poke?
Correct.
And they meant a sack or a bag.
Yeah, exactly. So not paper or plastic. And they wanted to know if I wanted a bag. Fortunately, I knew what it was, but most people I don’t think would.
Yeah, it might have been hanky-panky in the stock room.
Right, exactly.
Well, Charlie, thanks for this field report from one of my favorite parts of the country.
Well, I’ve lived in six states, as I’ve said, but the terrain and the four distinctive mile seasons set it apart from any other place I’ve lived, the rolling hills. It is gorgeous in all seasons. But thank you for clearing this up for me.
Sure thing, Charlie.
Thank you.
Take care.
Bye.
Bye.
Bye-bye.
Grant, how many times have we had somebody call and say, I moved to a different part of the country and I said this or that, and people looked at me like I had two heads?
It’s the American condition, right?
It is, right? If you’ve had that experience, call us 877-929-9673 or tell us all about it in email, words@waywordradio.org.
