What's the meaning of 'What do I care?' [closed]

Solution 1:

It's another piece of pop-culture slang from decades ago that's misquoted. The phrase originally was,"Why should I care?", which actually makes sense, but more simply could be expressed with, "I don't care," because the question, indeed, is rhetorical.

Solution 2:

What do I care?

In spoken discourse, this is almost certainly going to be spoken as "What do I care?", where the speaker emphasizes I to make a distinction between the speaker and the other party. Using this phrase shows your indifference to what the other party is interested in. I believe it is meant to be ironic, but using this phrase will often come across as mean-spirited.

For example:

-- There is a discount on sliced bread at the supermarket!
-- What do I care? (= I understand you have an interest in that, but to me it is of little or no consequence.)

A similar phrase is "What does he know?", used to shows a contrast in knowledge in an ironic way.

-- I think we should go that way.
-- What do you know? We normally end up lost when we follow your advice.

-- This looks like genuine gold. But what do I know? I'm no expert.

Solution 3:

Yes, that's pretty much what it means. It also implies "What does that have to do with me—why should I care?"

In any case, it is a rhetorical question, and often sarcastic.