(not) give a fig

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(not) give a fig

slang To (not) be concerned about someone or something. Most commonly used in negative constructions. I don't give a fig about making money, I just want to do something with my life that makes life better for others. I haven't given a fig for the show ever since they killed off my favorite character. Do whatever you want, I don't give a fig.

not give (or care) a fig

not have the slightest concern about.

Fig was formerly used in a variety of expressions to signify something regarded as valueless or contemptible.

fig, not care/give/worth a

See not care/give a fig.

not care/give/worth a fig, to

Not care at all, not give a damn. Fig has denoted something worthless since about 1400. Moreover, in Mediterranean countries the sign of the fig is an obscene gesture, made by clenching one’s fist and pushing the thumb between the first and middle fingers. According to John Ciardi, the thumb represents the penis, the fingers the labia, and the gesture means “Fuck you.” Dante so used it in the Inferno section of The Divine Comedy. Centuries later, however, the phrase’s obscene provenance began to be largely ignored, and the cliché survives.