According to Wikipedia, “A pet peeve is a minor annoyance that an individual identifies as particularly annoying to him or her, to a greater degree than others may find it.” I suppose that is accurate, but to me a true pet peeve is something small that you have a completely irrational reaction to. I’m talking from zero to RAGE in 0.8 seconds.
I won’t ask what your biggest pet peeve is, because I know mine changes based on which one has happened most recently, but what is the first one that comes to mind? For me it’s whistling in the car. Whistling in the car makes me want to punch someone in the teeth.
35 replies on “LTP: 4/22”
As a runner/cyclist, I hate it when cars go by really close to me, even when there’s plenty of room to move over a little.
I confess I flipped a woman off who honked and startled me when I was running–a VERY dangerous thing to do in Texas, as a lot of those gals have GUNS in the car!!!
My pet peeves revolve around my many years waitressing.
1. People who insist on sitting at the only dirty table in the restaurant when they seat themselves
2. People who only use half of those little creamers and leave the othet half sitting on the table to spill all over when I go to clean it off, just use the whole thing!
3. People from another servers section who ask me for things moments after their own server had been to their table (Mostly this annoys me b/c when they flag me down they fail to realize I’m not the person they were talking to a moment b4 because apparently all servers look the same /aren’t actual people all that jazz)
4.People who stand next to and ignore the “Please Seat Yourself” sign while clearing their throat and looking at me pointedly.
I think maybe it’s because I have really good hearing, but nothing makes me more irrationally pissed off than people smacking their lips when they chew, and people picking at their nails. The sounds of both just make me shiver in their indulgence and just…I think it’s their bodily insistence. It reminds me that we’re bodies and that we make weird sounds.
Mine all have to do with entitlement issues- see below-
Loud whistlers. They are invariably men, and invariably nervous, and invariably compensating by taking up as much space as possible. Just like riding the subway with your legs open and arms over the backs of other people’s seats.
People who call on the phone and immediately ask “who’s this?” You called! I’m looking at you, dad.
Loud car stereos, motorcycles with rattling mufflers, and people who honk outside houses, all in residential areas.
Oh my god, everything listed below is on my list. I think perhaps a more accurate list for me would be things that DON’T annoy me, but I’d have to say my top peeves include people who eat slowly with the idea that this is somehow quieter (it isn’t) and also people who pronounce espresso with an X.
I have this thing called misophonia (or hypersensitivity), so absolutely any kind of additional noise/sound happening around me is the cause for intense irritation, exacerbated by oversensitive hearing. Thank god my school webcasts lectures, because some days, listening to That Guy With His Daily Granola Bar That Takes 90 Minutes To Complete was too much for me. The other day I had to wear earplugs in the movie theatre because the guys behind me were so loud with their vigorous popcorn consumption. There’s also a visual component for me, so even though I know people who fidget and swing their legs can’t help it and actually burn a lot of calories doing so, I can’t handle it near me (though fidgeting friends are easier than fidgeting strangers).
And yes, I DO live alone, however did you guess that?
I have the same reaction to noises. I’m generally not an irritable or picky person, so I always feel uncomfortable. Often I have to move tables in restaurants and movie theatre seats. I’m going to google the condition
EXPRESSO!!! I forgot about that. And don’t forget “expecially.”
People touching me, even accidentally, on public transportation. There are scenarios when they can’t help it, of course, and I don’t fly into an uncontrollable rage about that, but when the bus is half empty and someone sits RIGHT NEXT TO ME, and it’s usually a man sitting with his legs wide open? UGHH
Most of mine are grammar-related, like the “me” vs. “I” thing that someone already mentioned. I guess people think that it sounds more educated to say “I”, but it drives me crazy because it’s a very simple rule. The same thing with the abuse of the word “literally”. I know someone who constantly says things like “I literally love that” or “It’s literally my favorite”. No. You literally make me want to punch a wall.
My only other huge pet peeve is when I’m walking behind a group of people, and they just stop moving and I can’t get by. It’s bad enough that you are taking up the entire path, but by all means, continue your important conversation with no regard for the people around you.
You guys are awesome. This is the best list of pet peeves evar. :)
This is incredibly irrational, but when people squeeze bottles to get the last bits out of them? And they stay squeezed in? It looks so dirty and gross to me, I just hate it. Just turn it upside down!
People who empty the brita pitcher then put it back in the fridge empty.
People who walk their dogs off the leash on busy city streets.
That’s pretty much it.
I am crazy, so I have a long list, but one that comes to mind in yawn-talking. People who talk while they are yawning. Pause, finish the damned yawn and then continue talking.
I HATE it when people use “I” when they should use “me.” It’s like they remember their 3rd grade teacher harping on them about using “me” incorrectly and now think there is no place for that word in the English language.
*shudders* You’ve just reminded me of a friend of mine who uses “whom” whenever who or whom would be appropriate. I think it’s the same problem as you describe, she has previously been told that there are times when “who” is incorrect so she over-compensates by using “whom” at all times. It makes me cringe every. Single. Time.
I had a career counselor who’d do that. She’d say, “please send in your resume to Mrs. _______ or I by Friday” and I’d just go ARGHHH. Sometimes she’d replace the “I” with “myself,” which is almost worse. I spent my entire college career wanting to send her an anonymous corrective note.
The pet peeve of the moment is the dude on my bus who currently has a cold.
He sort of coughs every 2 minutes. It’s a 30 minute bus ride. Every 2 minutes there’s a small but crackly *cough* and then we wait for the next one.
JUST COUGH already. None of this dainty shit. Let it out, once. And you’re done. Get it over with! I can just hear the mucus move a little with each small *cough* and all I want is the mucus to LEAVE with one big, belly filled COUGH. Dude.
So yeah, today, I hate whimpy coughers.
(I can tell you tomorrow I’m going to hate people who try to install home fixtures without reading the directions first… Ugh. Know what you’re doing! This is your house! well, okay, it was your house.)
My forever pet peeve is how people get on or off an elevator.
The rule is, let the people out of the tiny box and into the big lobby before filling the tiny box back up again.
This is not rocket science. I need you to move out of the way so I can get out. THEN, you can get in. Impatient bastards.
(and in the same vein, those people who stand with their face basically AT the door – step back, you don’t need to smell the door to know it’s about to open)
Yes! People in my building are the worst at riding elevators. This particular elevator is pretty small, and people almost always try to charge into it as soon as the doors open. Stop it, that’s not going to work for any of us.
heavy heavy heavy perfume wearers on elevators. It’s always cheap and over-applied, and it lingers long after they leave. You can ride an elevator with no one on it saturated with perfume
I hate it when people sit and sniffle (esp in class or at work) and don’t blow their noses. If you’re really sick please go home!. f you have a runny nose, get thee to a bathroom regularly and do your best. I know its unfair to allergy sufferers, but it drives me bananas to hear.
No one utilizes a good handkerchief any more. :(
When people pick someone up at their house and they pull up outside and just honk multiple times. I know everyone finds this annoying, but I got really irrational over it when it happened in front of my neighbor’s house every morning for a year. They’d honk approximately every 30 seconds for about 5 minutes. Now I get knee-jerk angry when I hear a car honk in front of the house.
Oh my god. I’m surprised you don’t go into a homicidal rage when you hear a horn now, let alone knee-jerk angry! I’m angry just *imagining* it!
did you talk to your neighbor about it?
I hate when people feel compelled to share that they dislike something many people like, especially when they open or close with “Sorry!” I think it’s mostly the “sorry” that annoys me – why apologize? I’m not hurt or offended if you don’t like Harry Potter or The Amazing Race or pilates, it doesn’t interfere with my liking it.
In a similar vein, I have an irrational hatred for “Just sayin’.” I don’t know why, but it makes me dislike what the person has said even if I otherwise completely agree.
Other non-language-related pet peeves include people who get in my personal space in exercise classes, oversensitive self-check-out stations at the grocery store that keep shouting at me, and drivers who get pissy and impatient when I’m crossing the street at a crosswalk / with the walk sign.
Ugh, a million times that first one. Even worse is when they say it in a smug tone that’s incredibly pleased with themselves. “I’VE NEVER SEEN GLEE/LOST/CUPCAKES/PUPPIES AND I DON’T GET THE APPEAL AND I WILL NEVER GET THE APPEAL AND I AM SO MUCH BETTER THAN ALL OF YOU WHO LIKE THOSE THINGS!”
It’s FINE if you don’t like Glee, or Lady Gaga, or Lost, or whatever. I myself both like and dislike some of those things. But do you really expect a merit badge and a cookie for it?
“sorry” or “just sayin'” are often attempts to legitimize an asshole statement. They do the same rhetorical work as “I just have to say…” or “I must confess” neither of which are ever attached to things someone HAS to say
I think you and Kit Cloudkicker both put your fingers on what bugs me – so often, statements like that are smug and are meant to legitimize things that are frequently just assy. I most often see “Just sayin'” used to shut down conversation or debate, and so even when I see it not used in that context (I think some people just use it as a turn of phrase that’s meant to be lighthearted or funny), I bristle and dislike it.
Mine’s easy. Loud eating. I’m not talking about eating crunchy food, or unwrapping packages. I’m talking about smacking your food when you chew. I’m talking about scraping your teeth against your silverware when you put your food in your mouth (guh, I just got a shiver thinking about it!) Slurping I can handle so long as its not done to an excessive degree (*ahem* I’m giving you the side eye, former roommate).
That just reminded me of one of mine – people talking when it’s obvious they need to clear their throat. Their voice getting more and more gravelly and it’s just gross and argh! Clear your throat! It seems to be a particular affliction of older people. I know I should cut them some slack but that’s the whole point of a pet peeve. *looks shifty*
Oooh, that’s pretty high up there for me too, actually! I find I unwillingly start coughing/clearing my throat whenever I’m in one of those situations, perhaps out of desperation that the other person will do the same?
Aaaarggggg, this bothers me so much! One of my really good friends is a loud, sloppy eater. It grosses me out. I put up with it on a regular basis, though, because he also knows where to go for amazing Asian food (all kinds: Chinese, Malaysian, Indian) and can typically order the best stuff in the appropriate language. Huge perk of our friendship. But then I pay the price when he eats. I just try to concentrate on the deliciousness I’m shoving down my piehole and ignore him.
ohgodohgodOHGOD. My dad does this, and I live at home. He sits next to me at the dinner table. He smacks his lips and slurps his soup. Ican’tevenRAAAGGGE