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What does it mean when a British person says "I can't be asked"?

11.06.2025 08:53

What does it mean when a British person says "I can't be asked"?

On the other hand we also say “I can’t be buggered” to mean “I can’t be bothered”, which seems to have no logic to it other than that it’s an arse-related word that sound bit like “bothered”. With the added complication that although the slang meaning of “bugger” is “have anal intercourse”, its *literal* meaning is “a Bulgarian”.

It may be related to the expression “Get your arse in gear”, which literally means “Start walking” (that is, set your buttocks in motion) but metaphorically means “Begin taking action”. If you “can’t be arsed” you’re refusing to take action.

There are very few circumstances in which somebody would say “I can’t be asked”. Probably you misheard “I can’t be arsed”, which means you can’t be bothered to do something.

My wife has a bunch of really attractive friends, and she expects me to never say anything to her about how beautiful they are. Does this seem fair? I love my wife, and just commenting shouldn’t hurt anything, right?