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Glite Dictionary
to don't care a button

to don't care a button

1 9.9
To not care at all
  • idiom
  • Archaic
translation icon : no me importa un comino
  • He didn't care a button about the rumors spreading around town.

Examples

  • She doesn't care a button what people say about her fashion choices.

  • I don't care a button about what they think!

  • Frank doesn't care a button for money; happiness matters more to him.

  • She really doesn't care a button about the latest fashion trends.

  • She didn't care a button about the accusations against her.

  • He said he doesn't care a button whether he wins or loses.

  • They don't care a button for anyone else's opinion on the matter.

Synonyms

to care a hang
vsto don't care a button
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To feel no interest or worry at all about something

is a general phrase of full indifference not tied to negation
no skin off my nose
vsto don't care a button
  • UK
1 9.7

It does not bother me if something happens

expresses personal complete indifference regardless of effect
to care a pin
vsto don't care a button
  • Archaic
9.9

To not mind something at all

expresses complete indifference rather than slight lack of concern
to care a jackstraw
vsto don't care a button
  • Archaic
9.9

To feel no interest or concern about something

means total indifference rather than casual mild concern

Antonyms

to care
∞ 1.0

To feel that someone or something matters to you

How Indifferent

to don't care a button
  • Archaic
1 9.9
to could care less
  • Informal
1 9.1
unconcerned
16 3.9

Surface Forms

don't care a button infinitive

Morphology

don't + care + a + button

The negative verb 'don't' + 'care' yields the core idea of indifference, but 'button' is used metaphorically as a minimal unit rather than its literal meaning; this degree-expression use is partly inferable (not caring even a very small amount) yet idiomatic. A B1 learner who knows the words might guess the general sense but could fail to map 'button' to the conventional small-amount metaphor without prior exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

The idiom don't care a button comes from the image of a tiny, cheap button that is worth almost nothing. So, saying you do not care 'a button' means you care so little about something that you 'do not care at all'.