care a jackstraw en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
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(dated, idiomatic, qualifier:usually in a negative use) To care (at all).
[…] Dangerfield was content to leave the question in abeyance, and did not seem to care a jackstraw what the townspeople said or thought—[…]
1863, J[oseph] Sheridan Le Fanu, “In Which One of Little Bopeep’s Sheep Comes Home Again, and Various Theories Are Entertained Respecting Charles Nutter and Lieutenant Puddock”, in The House by the Church-yard. […], volume II, London: Tinsley, Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 191:“[…] who’d care for the reputation of a schoolmaster? Do you think I’d care a jackstraw about Benson’s character if he was to die to-morrow?”
1865, Anne I. Robertson, chapter 10, in Yaxley and its Neighbourhood, volume 1, London: T. Cautley Newby, page 122:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| caring a jackstraw | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| cared a jackstraw | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| cared a jackstraw | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| cares a jackstraw | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |
Synonyms
bother · heed · mind · care · worry · give a jackstraw · becare · trouble oneself · concern oneself · reck