Pet Peeves: Aka Things That Make You Go "Gah!"

[theredhead77]

Language has never been static. It's constantly evolving. 

[SoMuchTV]

10 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

Language has never been static. It's constantly evolving. 

Hopefully, there are some rules that remain irregardless.  (sorry.)

[JTMacc99]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

The poster said that because using "less" in place of "fewer" is so infuriatingly common, there has also emerged an over-correction problem where some change all instances of less to fewer, even when less is correct

Oops. I didn't mean to imply that I was disagreeing with or correcting @SoMuchTV.

I meant to echo what was in the linked article above to say that's what pops into my head when I hear "less than $20."  The article also said this:

Quote

But less is actually preferred in phrases like "an essay of 250 words or less."

And here's where I get in my head. I'm not sure if it's a Peeve, or if it's just me being vaguely annoyed with myself for trying to make every single thing make sense within the rules as I understand them.

I understand how "an essay of 250 words or less" is acceptable, as you are not really counting the exact number of words.  The essay is just to be shorter than 250 words.  HOWEVER, if I were writing this instruction to students, I could see myself changing the wording to say "the essay should be fewer than 250 words" just to make myself happy.

[GaT]

This is something I find really annoying. When a book series publishes their books in mass market paperbacks, then for some reason switches to trade paperbacks. I've got a bunch of  books all the same size on the bookshelf, & then suddenly, the books are a different size. Why change the paperback format? 

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

Language has never been static. It's constantly evolving. 

I should probably post that somewhere I'll see it often. It would improve my feeble attempts at mindfulness and being calm.

[Lady Whistleup]

My peeve phrase is "I want to thank." It's redundant. You can just say "I thank ..." 

I also hate when people say "to" instead of "too." Like I've seen people write "me to" movement.

[PRgal]

Autocorrect recently corrected my its to it’s when I meant the former.  And I didn’t realize that until I pressed post!  Oops!  

[Ohiopirate02]

16 hours ago, GaT said:

This is something I find really annoying. When a book series publishes their books in mass market paperbacks, then for some reason switches to trade paperbacks. I've got a bunch of  books all the same size on the bookshelf, & then suddenly, the books are a different size. Why change the paperback format? 

Publisher do not own the printing presses.  Those are independent contractors, and the number of printers who do mass market paperbacks is shrinking and there are now more printers doing trade than mass market.  So publishers have to decide to wait for the mass market machines to be available or go with a printer doing trade size.  The wait time could be a few days or a few weeks or months, and waiting means losing money.  Then you factor in Covid 19 and how it disrupted the entire publishing process last year.  Publishers are still recovering and sometimes it's easier to change format than to wait indefinitely for the printer to be available.  

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, Lady Whistleup said:

My peeve phrase is "I want to thank." It's redundant. You can just say "I thank ..." 

Here's another redundancy: "at this point in time". It can either be at this point or at this time.

I need to go do something productive with my life 🤓

[Lady Whistleup]

55 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Here's another redundancy: "at this point in time". It can either be at this point or at this time.

I need to go do something productive with my life 🤓

ANother redundant one is "each and every one of you." It can just be "every one of you."

[Ohiopirate02]

My current pet peeve, the small southern where I live and work.  The town has a website and social media accounts.  You would think they would utilize those to let citizens know of upcoming utility work especially when Main St. is closed.  Nope, not a single word on either their website or Facebook page about the road closings.  Nor do they have the correct signage deployed to alert drivers to the closings.  I just watched a school bus have to turn around on the road out front.  The street is technically two lane but has room for people to parallel park on each side.  Easy for a car to do a U-turn, a bus not so much.  

The main headline on their website and Facebook is the rescheduling of the Touch-a-Truck event that was a washout last Thursday.  

[KlutzyCobbler]

3 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

My peeve phrase is "I want to thank." It's redundant. You can just say "I thank ..." 

My peeve phrase is:

“I want to apologize” followed by silence.

Me: tapping my foot, waiting.

Apologizer: “So, are we good?”

Edited June 14, 2021 by KlutzyCobbler

[annzeepark914]

46 minutes ago, KlutzyCobbler said:

Mine peeve phrase is:

“I want to apologize” followed by silence.

Me: tapping my foot, waiting.

Apologizer: “So, are we good?”

Awww-right! This reminds me of the other saying that drives me crazy: "I take full responsibility for..."  Yeah, ya numbskull. Who else should be responsible? 

[theredhead77]

14 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I should probably post that somewhere I'll see it often. It would improve my feeble attempts at mindfulness and being calm.

That's probably a good idea.

I'm finding the recurring beating of the "grammar as a peeve" horse distressing. I struggle with writing and am certain that I've committed the atrocity of misusing I instead of me. I can't imagine the struggles people who are learning English, people who aren't native English speakers, or people who just didn't have a quality education deal with. 

[TattleTeeny]

Speaking of I and me, I (me!) was thinking just now about how much it annoys me when a group of some kind or a business entity posts something and uses singular pronouns. Like say a clothing retailer or something or some kind of animal rescue operation — a post like “I really love this new collection!” or “I love this dog’s floppy ears!” We the readers don’t know the specific person making the post; use a collective pronoun!

Edited June 14, 2021 by TattleTeeny

[Quof]

1 hour ago, theredhead77 said:

I can't imagine the struggles people who are learning English, people who aren't native English speakers

I find people who learn English as a second language, through any kind of formal training, speak better English than many native speakers. When someone complains about dealing with a call centre in another country that the employee "doesn't speak English", I often respond "You might have difficulty with their accent, but I would wager their English is better than yours". 

[TattleTeeny]

I sometimes respond, "Do you know 1+ language, or just the one?"

[shapeshifter]

8 minutes ago, Quof said:

I find people who learn English as a second language, through any kind of formal training, speak better English than many native speakers. When someone complains about dealing with a call centre in another country that the employee "doesn't speak English", I often respond "You might have difficulty with their accent, but I would wager their English is better than yours". 

Not always. English language prepositions are tricky, and I have become very frustrated with tech support personnel who use prepositions that I suspect are incorrect, but, more importantly, change the meaning of the next step in resolving my printer (or other problem). 

BTW, my wireless printer is still not printing wirelessly since the last software update, and I doubt ever will again.

[Suzn]

6 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Here's another redundancy: "at this point in time". It can either be at this point or at this time.

I need to go do something productive with my life 🤓

Or one could just say "now".  Brevity is good.

I think some redundancy is acceptable for emphasis.

[ParadoxLost]

31 minutes ago, Suzn said:

Or one could just say "now".  Brevity is good.

Except in a discussion of grammar.  Sorry :)  I couldn't resist the snark.

At least I didn't generate a whole post in a bad grammar generator which is what I resorted to the last time everyone became peevish over grammar.

I'm peevish over grammar discussions that go on for days.

I'm going to go continue being peeved about measuring, hanging, and rehanging frames now.  4 down 10 to go. Well on that wall.  I envision spackle and paint in my future.

[RealHousewife]

Pointless work meetings. Why waste our time when we could actually be productive those hours?

[theredhead77]

Last summer the HOA maintenance team patched up some carpenter bee holes. They remain patched until  few weeks ago when something either bored in or out of them. Gross. I think I got the offender. But now those holes are being scouted by carpenter wasps. What in the fresh hell are those? Oh, just wasps that use carpenter bee holes to take their prey so they can eat it alive. 

Where's the peeve? I patched the holes with 3M hole filler and the fucking wasps dug the stuff out a few hours later. I'm going to pick up some "plastic wood" at Home Depot and hope that does the trick.

[supposebly]

Maybe we should move the grammar talk to the 

Say What? Literally and other offenders on the grammar police

Especially since this kind of stuff veers dangerously into linguistic discrimination when not kept in check. Also, most of these grammar pet peeves are really not grammar rules but style preferences. Many are only style preferences and some have function in discourse.

Language doesn't exist in a vacuum and doesn't exist if it's not spoken. And when it's spoken, we change it.

And many so-called grammar rules are based on an 18th century guy's preferences. 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/video/old-school-grammar

So, my pet peeve of today: imaginary grammar violations resulting in discrimination.

[GHScorpiosRule]

9 minutes ago, supposebly said:

Maybe we should move the grammar talk to the 

Say What? Literally and other offenders on the grammar police

Especially since this kind of stuff veers dangerously into linguistic discrimination when not kept in check. Also, most of these grammar pet peeves are really not grammar rules but style preferences. Many are only style preferences and some have function in discourse.

Language doesn't exist in a vacuum and doesn't exist if it's not spoken. And when it's spoken, we change it.

And many so-called grammar rules are based on an 18th century guy's preferences. 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/video/old-school-grammar

So, my pet peeve of today: imaginary grammar violations resulting in discrimination.

Actually, that thread is for grammar mistakes in television shows/news, and not real life. At least, that’s my understanding.

[Bastet]

28 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Actually, that thread is for grammar mistakes in television shows/news, and not real life. At least, that’s my understanding.

Yes, it's supposed to be, but it veers off track a fair bit and the moderators quit redirecting a long time ago.

39 minutes ago, supposebly said:

Also, most of these grammar pet peeves are really not grammar rules but style preferences.

Well, that's what a pet peeve is - something that isn't necessarily wrong, but really annoys someone anyway.

Edited June 15, 2021 by Bastet

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, theredhead77 said:

Last summer the HOA maintenance team patched up some carpenter bee holes. They remain patched until  few weeks ago when something either bored in or out of them. Gross. I think I got the offender. But now those holes are being scouted by carpenter wasps. What in the fresh hell are those? Oh, just wasps that use carpenter bee holes to take their prey so they can eat it alive. 

Where's the peeve? I patched the holes with 3M hole filler and the fucking wasps dug the stuff out a few hours later. I'm going to pick up some "plastic wood" at Home Depot and hope that does the trick.

You're going to wish you still had the bees.

[theredhead77]

44 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

You're going to wish you still had the bees.

The bees are still around. I have some epic wasp spray that got the scout and then sprayed right into the hole. Wear your PPE, people!

[Leeds]

On 6/13/2021 at 4:00 PM, JTMacc99 said:

 

I understand how "an essay of 250 words or less" is acceptable, as you are not really counting the exact number of words.  The essay is just to be shorter than 250 words.  HOWEVER, if I were writing this instruction to students, I could see myself changing the wording to say "the essay should be fewer than 250 words" just to make myself happy.

How do you know that the essay has fewer than 250 words unless you count them?

[EtheltoTillie]

On 6/11/2021 at 11:51 PM, RealHousewife said:

So even though I prefer being hot to being cold, my pet peeve is an outdoor afternoon baby shower in June. It is going to be in the 90s where I live. 

Any baby shower is a pet peeve of mine. The gift openings seem to get longer and longer. 

[shapeshifter]

7 hours ago, Leeds said:

How do you know that the essay has fewer than 250 words unless you count them?

In MS Word under the Review tab
In Google Docs under Tools

Edited June 15, 2021 by shapeshifter

[SuprSuprElevated]

11 hours ago, ParadoxLost said:

Except in a discussion of grammar.  Sorry :)  I couldn't resist the snark.

At least I didn't generate a whole post in a bad grammar generator which is what I resorted to the last time everyone became peevish over grammar.

I'm peevish over grammar discussions that go on for days.

I'm going to go continue being peeved about measuring, hanging, and rehanging frames now.  4 down 10 to go. Well on that wall.  I envision spackle and paint in my future.

Yeah, you'll need to stay out of the Grammar thread referenced above.  One's dangling modifiers and past participles won't know what him 'em.

[theredhead77]

People who don't put a contact phone number in their signature line, people who don't use a signature line and people who have all sorts of flair, images, inspirational quotes, and "fun" fonts in their signature line, making it a novel. We have corporate guidelines and I don't understand why they aren't enforced.

[MargeGunderson]

Cutesy email background and/or fonts are the worst. Follows closely by “inspirational” quotes (especially those of the religious variety).

I started at a new company in January, and my email came with a standard signature line. Unfortunately my title was misspelled and I didn’t notice until a colleague pointed it out. (I was able to fix it myself though.)

Edited June 15, 2021 by MargeGunderson

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, MargeGunderson said:

Cutesy email background and/or fonts are the worst. Follows closely by “inspirational” quotes (especially those of the religious variety).

I started at a new company in January, and my email came with a standard signature line. Unfortunately my title was misspelled and I didn’t notice until a colleague pointed it out. (I was able to fix it myself though.)

Yeah, that "inspirational" stuff doesn't inspire me, it just makes me cranky.

[PRgal]

21 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Not always. English language prepositions are tricky, and I have become very frustrated with tech support personnel who use prepositions that I suspect are incorrect, but, more importantly, change the meaning of the next step in resolving my printer (or other problem). 

BTW, my wireless printer is still not printing wirelessly since the last software update, and I doubt ever will again.

Speaking as someone who knows two languages, one often thinks in one language and has to translate to the other language.  And since grammar and vocabulary (especially colloquial vocabulary) can differ, you might end up using the wrong/different words.  My "technical" first language is Cantonese, but my primary/default language is English.  A few months ago, I told my son's nanny that going to in-person school is important because you don't want a child's brain to break (i.e. you don't want your child to get a concussion).  I really meant that in-person school is good for a child's mental well-being.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, PRgal said:

Speaking as someone who knows two languages, one often thinks in one language and has to translate to the other language.  And since grammar and vocabulary (especially colloquial vocabulary) can differ, you might end up using the wrong/different words.  My "technical" first language is Cantonese, but my primary/default language is English.  A few months ago, I told my son's nanny that going to in-person school is important because you don't want a child's brain to break (i.e. you don't want your child to get a concussion).  I really meant that in-person school is good for a child's mental well-being.

I think in the above example your meaning would be understood by context.

But with technical support, ESL speakers can really confuse me by using "from" instead of "for" or by using "in" instead of "over." This is especially problematic when I've already tried a gazillion different fixes, and none of them have worked, so I want to be sure I'm following directions correctly, and also that it's not something I've already tried.

A decade or so ago I formatted and did minor editing on PhD Theses for 2 ESL candidates. I had to verify what meaning they were trying to convey if a preposition seemed possibly incorrect. At least half the time it was correct, it was just that I was not so knowledgeable in the field in which they were writing.

[theatremouse]

My newest peeve is when an establishment has two "official" websites, both listing the hours, and they say different things. Then tack on top of it google says a third, and yelp/other review sites list something else.

For example a public market that has tons of food stands in it, and the market's site says the place opens at 11am, but the stand's own website says they open at 10am, and the rest of the internet can't seem to decide between 12pm and 12:30pm.

I'm guessing at least some of this is temporary because of COVID changes in hours but it really pisses me off that going to the theoretical actual source doesn't even get me the right answer.

[KittyMom4]

Pet peeve related to those upthread about signature lines with inspirational/religious quotes: 

Work emails that come with no contact information, especially the department you work in, a phone number/extension or what your title is. Nothing, just "Bob". Double that if it's from someone outside the company. 

And don't get me started on the long disclaimers at the bottom of some business emails, sheesh, couldn't you just say "forwarding this will get you fired, imprisoned, or sent to North Korea, keep it simple folks! 

 

[supposebly]

Pet Peeve about inspirational quotes. Why are they on furniture? Every time I see a piece with something on it I think this would get old so very very fast if I had to look at it every day multiple times.

 

[peacheslatour]

24 minutes ago, supposebly said:

Pet Peeve about inspirational quotes. Why are they on furniture? Every time I see a piece with something on it I think this would get old so very very fast if I had to look at it every day multiple times.

 

That reminds me of the Geico (I think) commercial where the guy that helps you not turn into your parents trashes some lady's sign. "Do you really need a sign to tell you to Live, Laugh, Love?" I hate signs in people's houses, especially ones that tell you how to feel.

[shapeshifter]

26 minutes ago, supposebly said:

Pet Peeve about inspirational quotes. Why are they on furniture? Every time I see a piece with something on it I think this would get old so very very fast if I had to look at it every day multiple times.

Heh, this reminds me about how I had an inspirational quote on my monitor screen saver at work before I retired. It was something about patience. I had a terrible boss. It served the dual purpose of reminding me not to let her ruin my life, and, I liked to imagine her walking into my office when I wasn't there and she might move my mouse to see what was on my screen and get guilt tripped. I doubt it ever happened, but imagining it always made me smile.

[KlutzyCobbler]

My go to screensaver was:

“I am up to my ass in alligators and somebody drained the swamp!”

Translation: I don’t need any more busywork but thanks for thinking of me. /s

[RealHousewife]

"Sex positive" and "purity culture" can annoy me. I get there are people who are sex negative out there. Human beings are sexual, and that shouldn't be shamed. I don't think anyone goes to hell for having sex. I'm pro LGBT. I think consenting adults can do whatever they want so long as they're not hurting anyone (like cheating). What annoys me is people who exaggerate sex negativity and reverse shame people. 

I live in the Bible Belt. Most of my friends, including the Christians, started having sex in high school. If anything, there was reverse shaming for late bloomers. These days, if you don't appreciate your husband going to strip clubs, you're a prude. I even know a guy who says what's the big deal with swinging. Nothing, if you and your wife are cool with that, but some of us are not. 

Maybe we complain about what we've run into more? I definitely think my upbringing and the way my parents raised me was wrong with how much was shamed. Other than that, I find the hookup culture and things like that more difficult to deal with. 

[shapeshifter]

2 minutes ago, RealHousewife said:

…These days, if you don't appreciate your husband going to strip clubs, you're a prude. I even know a guy who says what's the big deal with swinging.…

Sounds like gaslighting to me.

[ParadoxLost]

You'll never find an inspirational quote from me.  It would always be some kind of self deprecating humor like "Of all the things I've lost I miss my mind the most."

[Quof]

My office email signature is pretty standard, but I would like to add 

"Pronouns I/Me and I use them correctly".

[MargeGunderson]

I do have a couple of inspirational magnets at work.  One says “I need more money and less shit from you people” and the other is “She vowed not to suffer alone.” One person’s inspiration is another person’s warning.

[SoMuchTV]

ugghh poison ivy!  I know you're out there, I'm willing to sacrifice the environment with poisonous sprays, but still you lurk in my yard!  I pull a few weeds and a few days later, my knuckles look like like raspberries!  Not cool!

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, SoMuchTV said:

ugghh poison ivy!  I know you're out there, I'm willing to sacrifice the environment with poisonous sprays, but still you lurk in my yard!  I pull a few weeds and a few days later, my knuckles look like like raspberries!  Not cool!

@SoMuchTV, please promise me in the future you will immediately wash your hands thoroughly with soap (or maybe even better, unscented Dawn dish soap) when you come in from pulling weeds!

[SoMuchTV]

7 minutes ago, MargeGunderson said:

I do have a couple of inspirational magnets at work.  One says “I need more money and less shit from you people” and the other is “She vowed not to suffer alone.” One person’s inspiration is another person’s warning.

The "inspirational" quotes I can remember include "a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part" and "abandon hope all who enter here".  Both  I think were from DBAs who had no concerns about job security.

2 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

@SoMuchTV, please promise me in the future you will immediately wash your hands thoroughly with soap (or maybe even better, unscented Dawn dish soap) when you come in from pulling weeds!

Oh I know the drill.  I even have some special soap for combating poison ivy rashes, but  this one I didn't see coming until it was too late!

Edited June 17, 2021 by SoMuchTV