# Little things that you are irrationally picky about **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 19, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309 "2015-01-19T20:27:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/101 "2015-01-22T01:15:48Z")
> [@kurtisokc](#): > > I’m not sure if this is what the OP is looking for, but I believe the “singular they” is an abomination which must be ruthlessly eradicated from the language. Yes, yes, yes!!! ---
**Author:** ![LouLou7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LouLou7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouLou7)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/102 "2015-01-22T01:48:52Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Sorry, not buying it. > > If the phase can be used to describe everything, and every occurrence, every circumstance, anywhere, anytime, always, then I submit there is nothing that it adds. > > Everything since the beginning of time, into an unending future will always be ‘what it is’. There is literally nothing that can’t be ‘what it is’. It’s silly and lazy and redundant. > > ( ‘ **irrationally** picky about’ is right there in the title! ) Sorry, everyone who disagrees with elbows…Elbows is right and you are wrong. _It is what it is_ is stupid and meaningless. Of course it is what it is. What else could it be? Anyone who uses this phrase to mean “It can’t be changed so just deal with it” could just as easily use that phrase and it would have more meaning. People who say “It is what it is” just want to sound like they’re making a profound point when they’re really just being lazy and inarticulate. Irrationally picky? Perhaps. But that phrase makes my eye twitch. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/103 "2015-01-22T01:51:55Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > … And don’t get me started on kerning. The only thing worse than no kerning is over kerning. Here: check this out [xkcd: Kerning](http://xkcd.com/1015/) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/104 "2015-01-22T02:12:36Z")
Only bad people list songs as title-author rather than author-title. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/105 "2015-01-22T02:28:30Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Misspellings on professionally-done signs for businesses or products. “Body’s By Jake.” “Condon’s Auto Alinement.” “Bob’s Family Dinning.” “Featuring “Lite” Meals.” (All real signs in my area - if you don’t care enough to have it spelled right, I’m not giving you my business because right there, I’m assuming incompetency and lack of attention to detail.) > > Also “Convenient Location!” Convenient to _whom_, exactly? And, define “convenient.” > > Oh, while I am at it: “Construction, Decks and More!” “Heating, Cooling and More!” What the hell is “more”? Interpretive Dance? Custom lamp shades? Kitchen table plastic surgery and cat neutering while u wait? What? I don’t like it when signs lie to me. I’ve been to restaurants where the menu has “homemade pie”; I always want to ask whose home it was made at. And the grocery store I used to go to had a sign on the way out that said “for your convenience, shopping carts will not work beyond the perimeter of the parking lot” (or something like that). Really? My convenience would let me take the cart wherever the hell I wanted. I’m sure the store doesn’t want them to be stolen, and it keeps prices down, but don’t lie to me about it. ---
**Author:** ![LouLou7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LouLou7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouLou7)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/106 "2015-01-22T02:34:54Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Sorry, not buying it. > > If the phase can be used to describe everything, and every occurrence, every circumstance, anywhere, anytime, always, then I submit there is nothing that it adds. > > Everything since the beginning of time, into an unending future will always be ‘what it is’. There is literally nothing that can’t be ‘what it is’. It’s silly and lazy and redundant. > > ( ‘ **irrationally** picky about’ is right there in the title! ) Sorry, everyone who disagrees with elbows…Elbows is right and you are wrong. _It is what it is_ is stupid and meaningless. Of course it is what it is. What else could it be? Anyone who uses this phrase to mean “It can’t be changed so just deal with it” could just as easily use that phrase and it would have more meaning. People who say “It is what it is” just want to sound like they’re making a profound point when they’re really just being lazy and inarticulate. Irrationally picky? Perhaps. But that phrase makes my eye twitch. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/107 "2015-01-22T03:06:30Z")
When I make an egg sandwich, the yolk has to be still runny but slightly set. If I overcook the yolk till it’s hard (or–god **forbid** –break the yolk)…well, I’ll still eat it but I’ll wish I could throw it out without feeling guilty. Runny yolks are okay, I guesssss, just as long as the whites are thoroughly cooked. Undercooked whites are inedible. I’m really picky about clothes fabrics that are prints. I couldn’t even tell you what my taste in prints is, except that I don’t like most of what I see in stores. When it comes to shoes, particularly high heels, I only like shoes that look like they were designed in the 1920s-1940s – round toes and Cuban or louis heels and a certain look to the arch of the foot. I have to sleep on my left side (and on the left side of the bed). The right side just feels…_wrong_. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/108 "2015-01-22T03:22:35Z")
Yes, French often calls for the speaker to not pronounce a bunch of the letters. However, “coup de grâce” really is “coo de grah **sse** ”. “Coo de grah” would be something fat, not really what you’re looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/109 "2015-01-22T03:42:05Z")
> [@kurtisokc](#): > > I’m not sure if this is what the OP is looking for, but I believe the “singular they” is an abomination which must be ruthlessly eradicated from the language. > [@Pai325](#): > > Yes, yes, yes!!! Wow. This is tops on my list. I see it all the time. “The employee said they were going to tag the equipment.” (For example) It drives me crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/110 "2015-01-22T03:50:14Z")
Oh, and I hate the use of “that” where “who” should be used. Some random examples: She was the only female _that_ was on the team. I’m the only person _that_ thought of the correct answer. No. NO! The correct usage is “who.” ---
**Author:** ![wombattver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b77776/32.png) [@wombattver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wombattver)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/111 "2015-01-22T03:58:30Z")
> [@GoodOmens](#): > > Do potato chips count? No BBQ, no cheddar, no sour cream and chives, no vinegar, no nothing. Potato, oil, salt. MAYBE black pepper if I’m feeling crazy. If you need anything you’re covering up bad potato chips. > > Same thing with French fries. Yes! I want only plain chips, especially with dips! My MIL will bring guacamole with Doritoes and Fritos and potato chips but not plain tortilla chips. She’ll buy an array of interesting (expensive!) dips at Whole Foods… and then serve with an array of flavored chips! Try this new spinach dip - with sour cream/onion chips. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/112 "2015-01-22T03:58:37Z")
I don’t know how to describe these ,so I’ll put them into sentences. 1. “Karen is driving me crazy. I just can’t with her.” 2. “People are driving a lot of large cars anymore” 3. “The lawn needs mowed” “The dishes need washed” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Winkler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@The\_Winkler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Winkler)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/113 "2015-01-22T07:06:55Z")
“That was Phil Collins and Genesis.” “That was Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones.” ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/114 "2015-01-22T10:05:41Z")
Writers – _journalists_ in particular, of all people – who mix up _stanch_ and _staunch_. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/115 "2015-01-22T16:59:42Z")
Alphabetized lists in which initial articles (i.e., “A” or “The”) are not disregarded. This is now nearly universal with movie title listings for theaters and cable channels, all because idiot programmers couldn’t be bothered to do it right. Drives me nuts. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/116 "2015-01-23T18:32:22Z")
For some reason I’ve heard this one from a few different radio personalities- using ‘complacent’ when they meant ‘complicit’. You’re broadcasting your stupidity to millions, dude. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/117 "2015-01-23T19:36:56Z")
> [@j666](#): > > “dour” mispronounced Please to be explaining which way you consider correct. > [@Honey](#): > > I don’t know how to describe these ,so I’ll put them into sentences. \ > > 1. “People are driving a lot of large cars anymore” > > 2. “The lawn needs mowed” “The dishes need washed” I am very close to (but fortunately, not within punching distance, at the moment) a mid-westerner who uses both of these constructions. I have, admittedly, grown rather fond of the latter. But #2 – what the fuck do you call that? I have never been able to explain exactly why it is nails on a chalkboard to me. It doesn’t make any sense! ---
**Author:** ![raspberry\_hunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@raspberry\_hunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raspberry_hunter)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2015, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/118 "2015-01-23T19:59:59Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > And **IvoryTowerDenizen** ’s link reminded me of one of mine: minor errors in usage and punctuation. “The reason is because”. Goes along with “banana’s $.59 cents” and “I like it alot”. Why yes, I used to teach Freshman Composition; why do you ask? [Required link about the Alot.](http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html) Seeing “alot” used to bother me, well, a lot, and since reading that it no longer does. What _does_ bother me is “alright.” I know it is accepted usage now. It will never, ever be accepted by me. (Double rage if it’s in fiction that is supposed to be a pastiche of something written before, oh, 1990.) ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/119 "2015-01-23T21:05:17Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > As far as I care, there is no number named “Oh”. There is one called “zero”. “Oh” is a letter. That might be a regionalism. I grew up one place and everyone said, “oh” and then I moved and everyone said “zero”. I moved after fourth grade and my fifth grade maths teacher\* would bitch at me when ever I said “oh”. One time he made me stand out in the hallway because I deliberately said it several times in an answer just to annoy him. \*Yes I had a separate maths teacher than my regular teacher because I was smart. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309/120 "2015-01-23T23:04:59Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > Plastic handled cutlery. I won’t use it, unless forced to. We have one knife and fork with plastic handles in the house, and I will eat with my fingers rather than use them. Why buy knives? I can make my own better and cheaper. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-you-are-irrationally-picky-about/710309.md?page=7)