give a fig

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

1. (informal, negative) To care what someone else thinks or does, particularly in relation to what they think or say about the speaker.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:care

   I couldn't give a fig!

   • 1959, Steam's Finest Hour, edited by David P. Morgan, Kalmbach Publishing Co., page 28:

     The railroads owned by U.S. Steel have never given a fig for prestige so long as their owner's ore was hauled to the mills economically.