🤷♂️ Not Care/Give/Worth A Fig, To
Definition
Not care/give/worth a fig, to - To be completely indifferent, or to not give any importance to something or someone. The term “fig” has been denoted as something lacking value since as early as the 1400s.
Origins
The inception of the phrase is rooted in ancient Mediterranean cultures, where the “fig” was employed not as a fruit, but as a notorious gesture. The “sign of the fig” involves clenching one’s fist and pushing the thumb between the first and middle fingers. This obscene gesture conveyed a robust “I don’t care” sentiment, especially when Dante used it to flavor uncompromising invective in his magnum opus, “The Divine Comedy”. Kudos to Dante for mixing horticulture and vulgarity so seamlessly!
Synonyms
- Not give a hoot
- Couldn’t care less
- Not give a darn
- It’s chicken feed
- Not worth a hill of beans
- Couldn’t give a rip
Antonyms
- Care deeply
- Value highly
- Prize immensely
Quotes & Proverbs
- “I wouldn’t give a fig for simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for simplicity on the other side of complexity.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes
- “I care not a fig what others think of me!” – Fictitious old pirate
Usage in Literature
In Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy, this fig symbol, surprisingly full of symbolism with an oh-so-Mediterranean vulgarity, was already fleeted amidst infernal circles.
Movies, Books, Songs, & Poetry
- Books: The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri; Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare (contains related idioms)
- Movies: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (profanity masked by absurdity)
- Songs: “Couldn’t Give a Fig” by The Figmentals (imagination gets sassy!)
Quizzes To Flex Your Brains!
“#Authored by “E. L. Fluent”, 2023” ““Never strain over trifles—they’re not worth a fig, after all, except on a flirtatiously Mediterranean-soil.”
