On this cold January morning, I thought it might be kinda fun to share some of our most importunate pet peeves. Voicing pet peeves is a personal rant. Pet peeves are, by nature, annoying small irritations that, to an individual, seem big, but may not be perceived as important to most people.
Sometimes we know our pet peeves are frivolous, but we are attached to them nevertheless. We hang on to them, like an old dysfunctional friend. We know they bug us, but we really don't want to get rid of them. So we rant about them with a sense of pride. They belong to us and we don't want to lose them.
Pet peeves run the gamut from the common to the peculiar. It seems the most common current pet peeves revolve around the issues of cell phone manners, junk mail and spam e-mail, rudeness, and driving etiquette. Near-universal pet peeves, like Rod Blagogovich's hairstyle, may be better described as social commonalities. Very particular personal pet peeves, like disdain for snow on mountains, are best defined as peculiarities. We'll get to sharing our pet peeves in a moment. Just follow me below the fold!
The term "pet peeve" came into use around 1919. The term is derived from the 14th century word "peevish." It is the word "pet" that causes the term "pet peeve" to be personal. Just as we are attached to our pooties and puppies, we are attached to our pet peeves.
Pet peeves are sometimes difficult to rationalize, and generally should not be judged by others. Pet peeves sometimes cause us undue stress, and are often not recognized by others. From WiseGeek:
It can sometimes be difficult to rationalize pet peeves, and it is important for people to recognize this. If it is possible to accommodate someone's pet peeves, this is often the best course of action. On the other hand, if accommodating a pet peeve requires unreasonable levels of effort, it may be a good idea to talk about the issue with the person concerned, to see if a compromise could be worked out. People should also recognize their own pet peeves before casting aspersions on others.
So, without further ado, here, in no particular order, are some of my most impetuous pet peeves:
- Vests
- The term "hooking up"
- Colored contact lenses
- Karaoke
- Dr. Phil
- People with no body space boundaries
- Limp fishy handshakes
- Getting the middle seat on an airplane
- Ketchup packets
- Toaster crumbs on the counter
- Instant Messaging
- Conspiracy theories
- Unnecessary movie sequels
- People who ask, "Can I ask you a question?"
- Beyonce
- Stingy people
- Shiny jeans on men
- Walking into a spider web
- USC
- MySpace
- Unibrows, nose hair, and ear hair on men
- Chair kickers
- Misspelled words
- Serving dinner with mismatched silverware (It's ok if you do, but it's not ok if I do.)
- Plastic lawn chairs with webbing
- E-mail jokes and chain letters (No, I will not forward your e-mail to ten people even with the threat that I will burn in hell if I don't.)
- The much inflated costs of "shipping and handling"
- Blind dates
- People who leave their Christmas decorations up until March
- People who over-decorate their houses for Christmas like Chevy Chase in "Christmas Vacation" (25,000 twinkling white lights - jeesh!)
- Noisy eaters
- Mispronunciation of words (Please see my diary http://www.dailykos.com/...)
- Doctors who judge my pain level
- Loud senseless music
- Legalese
- Dirty fingernails
- Electric cook tops
- The name "Todd"
- Gated communities
- Sarah Palin
- Making me talk on the phone to someone I've never met, i.e. "Here, Kristin, say hello to Bob"
- The term "LOL"
- Smelly dishrags
- Foxfire choosing when to install its newest update
- When something I've already thought of becomes the next "hot item"
- The term "24/7"
- Sarcasm
- Dark green business suits on men
- Glade air freshener
- Canned laughter
- Sitcoms (See above, canned laughter.)
- Blindingly white teeth, i.e. Norm Coleman
- People who sigh
- Halloween decorations in a nursing home
- NASCAR
- The sound of a person eating ice
- Vanity license plates
- Scratchy tags on the back of clothes
- The word "extraordinary" (Sorry, President Elect Obama.)
- Lame water pressure
- Being put on speaker phone
- Violent movies
- Whole life insurance
- Overweight people in tight clothes
- Off-key singing (Please see above, "Beyonce".)
- Chat rooms
- Nosiness
- Unripe avocados
- Urban legends
- Intellectuals who refer to themselves as such
- People who over-explain
- Susan B. Anthony dollars
- Under-tipping
- Muzak (No personal offense intended, Muzikal!)
- Hummers
- Disappearing Tupperware lids
- The response, "Because the Bible says so"
- Wordiness in writing
- People who ask "Why?" when they know there is no reasonable response, i.e, Me: "My dog ate my favorite shoes today and then threw up red puke all over my white carpet." Respondent: "Why?"
- Pat Buchanan's voice
- Pantyhose
- Beds that are too short
- The word "but"
- Cialis commercials
- The phrase "God willing"
- Trigonometry
- Wire coat hangers
- People with dandruff who wear black
- Cadillac Escalades
- 15 minute parking meters
- Saxophone music, especially the high notes
- Vince with Shamwow
- Doctors who talk to each other about me when I'm in the same room
- Adults who talk baby-talk to children (Save it for the pooties and puppies.)
- Fake breasts
- $4 Cokes at movie theaters
- Bumper stickers
- Loud exhaust fans
- Combovers
- Tom Cruise
- People who home-school their kids
- Plastic grocery bags
- Grocery store self-checkout lines
- People who speak every sentence as if it were a question, i.e. "I am feeling really fine today?"
- Poor grammar in speaking
- Accordion music
- People who "re-gift"
- The sound of flip-flop shoes
- Cutting my fingers while trying to open new gadgets covered with hard plastic molding
- Ice cream with freezer burn
- Things sticking out of drawers
- People who dot their i's with little circles (Please see above, "Sarah Palin.")
- Cowboy boots
- Cowboy hats
- Linen
- Having to go to FedEx to pick up a package when I already told them to leave it on my front porch
- People who complain about the weather (It is what it is.)
- The phrase, "It is what it is"
- Surprise parties
- The word "junque"
- People who are not intellectually curious (Please see above, "Sarah Palin")
- Multi-level marketing
- The name "Chip", especially used in conjunction with the word "Saltsman"
- Mormons
- People who name their kids things like Trig, Track, Jett, Jeb, Cornelius, Chad, Gordon, Jesus, Ethel, Maude, Charity, Tiffany, and Moon Unit (C'mon parents, you may think naming your kid "Gonzo" is cute, but, note to Larry King, you are not the one who will have to explain how to pronounce and spell "Chaia" for the rest of your life.)
- Time-share salespeople
- Angelina Jolie's lips
- Childproof caps
- Robocalls
- Vehicles whose tires are only meant to last 15,000 miles, i.e. Ford Explorer
- The term "Mr. Mom"
- Mitch McConnell
- The phrase "you see"
- E-Harmony
- Yellow cars
- Oral Roberts University
- The color mauve
- People who insist on being called "Doctor", i.e. "Dr. Podinka, your table for two is ready"
- Anyone who plants oleander
- Picky people (hehe)
- People who give unsolicited advice
- High heels
- People who call me ma'am
- Confetti inside wedding invitations
- Incomplete sentences ended with a period
- The term "residual income"
- Cologne on men
- People who brag about how much they donated
Well, I could go on...... Now it's your turn. Have at it. Please post your most pernicious, picky, peculiar, personal, petulant, predictable, perpetrating, perpetual, particular pet peeves!