A rap was a counterfeit coin, worth about half a farthing, which passed current in Ireland in the eighteenth century, owing to the scarcity of genuine coins. Swift, in the “Drapier’s Letters,” wrote that “many counterfeits passed about under the name of raps.” Hence, “I don’t care a rap” means “I don’t care the least bit.”
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Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 198, 22 July 1937, Page 3
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56Untitled Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 198, 22 July 1937, Page 3
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