give a monkey's

English

Etymology

Possibly a euphemistic ellipsis of “to give a monkey's toss”, “to give a monkey's shit”, or “to give a monkey's arse”; compare give a rat's arse or give a rat's ass.

Verb

give a monkey's (third-person singular simple present gives a monkey's, present participle giving a monkey's, simple past gave a monkey's, past participle given a monkey's)

1. (informal, UK, idiomatic, in negative constructions) To care; to have an interest or concern.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:care

   • 1998, Willis Hall, Keith Waterhouse, Billy Liar:

     He knows what he can do with his calendars. I don't give a monkey's. I'm leaving. I've got another job.

   • 2002, a British Manufacturing Director, quotee, edited by Robert Westwood and Stephen Linstead, The Language of Organization, page 71:

     I couldn't give a monkey's. What I am interested in is the things that drive the big numbers.

   • 2004, Randall Stevenson, The Oxford English Literary History, 1960–2000:

     Though a huge majority of the population may have continued not to give a monkey's for Derrida, Lacan, or Foucault themselves […]

   • 2005, Justine Roberts, Carrie Longton, Mums on Pregnancy: Trade Secrets from the Real Experts:

     A friend living in France reports that the French don't give a monkey's about unpasteurized dairy products (cheese, etc.) but that they are completely paranoid about le toxoplasmosis.