to give a monkey's

1 9.9

To not care at all about something, usually in negative sentences

idiom
/ɡɪv ə ˈmʌŋkiz/

Slang

: importar un comino

I couldn't give a monkey's for his community and all that, but I want to stay in the team, so I just swallow my pride, like a spoonful of castor oil that my grandad thinks is good for you.

Examples

I really don't give a monkey's about the party; I'd rather stay home and relax.
Jake was the kind of guy who was up for everything and didn't give a monkey's what anyone thought about him.

Blog text (18)
She used to care a lot, but now she doesn't give a monkey's about what others think.
He claimed he didn't give a monkey's about his job, yet he worked overtime every week.

Synonyms

to give a damn

vsto give a monkey's

NSFW

172 8.8

To not care at all about someone or something

is the broader idiom for caring at all, not just negativity

to give a hoot

vsto give a monkey's

Archaic

9 8.1

To not care at all about something

is the general expression focusing on any level of concern

to give a rat

vsto give a monkey's

Slang

9 9.9

To care at all about something

is the wider phrase meaning to be concerned at all

to give a rip

vsto give a monkey's

Slang

2 9.5

To not care at all about something

is the standard idiom meaning to care at all, not just informal

to give a rat's arse

vsto give a monkey's

Offensive

1 9.9

To not care at all about something

is the general phrase meaning to care at all, often negated

to give a flying shit

vsto give a monkey's

Offensive

1 9.9

To say in rude language that someone does not care at all

is similar but without the strong vulgar tone

to care a hang

vsto give a monkey's

Archaic

1 9.9

To feel no interest or worry at all about something

means caring at all but is often used negatively to deny it

to give a sneck posset

vsto give a monkey's

Archaic

9.9

Not care at all about something

is the normal modern phrase for showing any concern at all

to give a hang

vsto give a monkey's

Archaic

9.3

To not care at all about something, used only in negative sentences

is used similarly but can appear in broader contexts

to care a jackstraw

vsto give a monkey's

Archaic

9.9

To feel no interest or concern about something

focuses on the basic idea of caring at all, not degree

to care a pin

vsto give a monkey's

Archaic

9.9

To not mind something at all

is the idiom for any concern even when usually negated

to care a lottle

vsto give a monkey's

9.9

Not be very interested in something, said as a joke

names caring at all in general, not the joking smallness

How Concerned

to give a monkey's

Slang

1 9.9

to could care less

Informal

1 9.1

Surface Forms

give a monkey's infinitive

gave a monkey's past

given a monkey's past participle

giving a monkey's present participle

gives a monkey's third person singular

Morphology

give + a + monkey's

The sense 'to care' (usually in negative: 'not give a monkey's') cannot be derived from the literal meanings of 'give' and 'monkey's' — there is no compositional relation between the constituents and the idiomatic meaning. This is an informal, regionally British euphemistic idiom of uncertain origin, so a B1 learner who knows the words would not predict the meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

Give a monkey's may come from old British slang where monkey's meant something small or not worth much. The picture is that you would not 'give even a monkey's'—not even a little care—so it now means 'to care at all', usually in negative sentences.