# Post your most trivial pet peeves **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 18, 2002, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255 "2002-11-18T03:16:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/41 "2002-11-18T17:26:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ethilrist \* > \*\*And/or. That’s redundant, people. \*\* I would like a Jeep Cherokee and Chevy Blazer. I would like a Jeep Cherokee or Chevy Blazer. How is it redundant? ---
**Author:** ![Lyllyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@Lyllyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lyllyan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/42 "2002-11-18T17:34:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by iampunha \* > \*\* > And the fact that something is on the menu does not necessarily mean they have it available. Just last night I was at a restaurant with two friends and one of them asked for cheesecake. It was on the menu. > > Guess what they didn’t have:) > > \*\* Missing the point. Say, for instance, you are at a restaurant that specializes in seafood. Fish, clams, mussells, oysters, shrimp…everything you could want, fresh from the sea. Pet Peeve #1 sits, looks at the menu, admires the ocean motif, then ask the waitress, “Do you have spaghetti?” ---
**Author:** ![gus28](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6de8d8/32.png) [@gus28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gus28)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/43 "2002-11-18T17:54:02Z")
This one just drives me nuts. People that insist when a crowded elevator arrives to rush right inside. There were people who needed to get off idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/44 "2002-11-18T18:31:36Z")
And people who call the office, ask for someone who is not there, and when I say “May I take a message,” give me their entire life story with seven variations. “A message” is your name, phone number, and maybe what the call is in reference to. ---
**Author:** ![Eulogy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7993a0/32.png) [@Eulogy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eulogy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/45 "2002-11-18T19:05:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ethilrist \* > \*\*Oh, you reminded me of another one: Y2K01. \*\* I have nothing against it when it’s used how it was intended, SMS (whether by internet or phone, when you only have, ssay 150 char’s available) or _maybe_ fast paced chatrooms. But I can’t stand it used on boards:mad:. Oh, I hate ebonics used on the net, period. ;j ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/46 "2002-11-18T19:27:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FallFast \* > \*\*Men wearing sandals with white socks. Just irks me for some reason \*\* This reminds me. I _hate_ seeing neo-hippie/new-wave/hipster/however-the-heck-you-classify-them-girls who wear _blue jeans under sun dresses._ It’s like they’re deliberately trying to look ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/47 "2002-11-18T19:41:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eleusis \* > \*\*This reminds me. I _hate_ seeing neo-hippie/new-wave/hipster/however-the-heck-you-classify-them-girls who wear _blue jeans under sun dresses._ It’s like they’re deliberately trying to look ridiculous. \*\* The funny thing is that in high school ('97) there was a girl who dressed like that and got laughed at behind her back cause of it. Now it’s fashionable. ---
**Author:** ![panache](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c77e96/32.png) [@panache](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/48 "2002-11-18T19:43:23Z")
Originally posted by gus28 > [@](#): > > This one just drives me nuts. People that insist when a crowded elevator arrives to rush right inside. There were people who needed to get off idiot. In the same vein, this applies twice as much on the metro- It’s not even early enter-ers, it’s those asshats who don’t have to get off, but refuse to budge even an inch so that it takes twice as long for everyone to exit. (Guess who nearly ended up riding the metro evermore THIS morning?) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/49 "2002-11-18T20:00:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JuanitaTech \* > \*\*Mine are uber-trivial…you’ve been warned. > > I can’t stand to see a gentleman wear a tie with a button-down collar shirt. \*\* Really? Maybe it isn’t as…evening dressy or something as a non-button-down collar shirt, but it is okay to do, isn’t it? Other than that, I have to agree with many of the posters here. Many of the examples are definitely frustrating to me, and I cringe when I know I do them… ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/50 "2002-11-18T20:20:35Z")
I have two. 1. “Alumni of State U.” license plate frames, stickers, window plaques, etc. Allowable if there is more than one graduate of said university in the vehicle. Absolutely forbidden if there is only one. Attention Mr. or Mrs. College Graduate, _alumni_ is plural. _Alumnus_ (masc.) and _alumna_ (fem.) are the singular. 2. Wet towels on the bed. I hate that. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/51 "2002-11-18T20:22:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lyllyan \* > \*\*Missing the point. > > Say, for instance, you are at a restaurant that specializes in seafood. Fish, clams, mussells, oysters, shrimp…everything you could want, fresh from the sea. Pet Peeve #1 sits, looks at the menu, admires the ocean motif, then ask the waitress, “Do you have spaghetti?” \*\* Why is this so bad? I don’t eat seafood, but sometimes the people iIam with want to go to a seafood restaurant. Most seafood places also have food that people like me can eat. It’s better than sitting there not eating anything. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/52 "2002-11-18T20:30:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by WordMan \* > \*\*Really? Maybe it isn’t as…evening dressy or something as a non-button-down collar shirt, but it is okay to do, isn’t it? > > Other than that, I have to agree with many of the posters here. Many of the examples are definitely frustrating to me, and I cringe when I know I do them… \*\* It is ok, WordMan, if the shirt is a _dress shirt_ with a button-down collar. I see my post wasn’t clear. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/53 "2002-11-18T20:33:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jabba \* > \*\ ***Khadaji** : What’s wrong with that? It means “Recommend a camera to me” in the same way that “Give me a camera” means “Give a camera to me.” \*\* It is incorrect english. You may use the word ‘recommend’ with the word ‘me’ in the following context “Recommend me for a job at McDonalds.” Or “Recommend me for the remedial english class.” Can you see how the verb acts with the word ‘me’? Your sentence is correct when you use the word ‘to’ with the words ‘recommend’ and ‘me’. When used this way, you would carry the ‘to’ along with the word ‘me’ when you move it in the sentence. Thus, the sentence in question should read: Recommend _to me_ a camera. ---
**Author:** ![crazy4chaucer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@crazy4chaucer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazy4chaucer)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/54 "2002-11-18T20:39:26Z")
My biggest pet peeve I fortunately no longer have to deal with. When I was a secretary or admin assistant and was answering the phone for my boss, I would frequently be required to inform the caller that “So-and-so is on another call right now. May I please take a message?” Then they would say, “How long is s/he going to be on the phone?” Duh! Hello! Do I look like Miss Cleo??? (C4C wipes her brow, thanking the powers that be for freeing her from such ignorant people.) ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/55 "2002-11-18T20:40:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lsura \* > \*\*People who, approaching a double door at the same time as you, stand aside and wait for you to open the door because they can’t be bothered to open the other side for themself. \*\* I have found, for some bizarre reason, that many of the stores in the area that have double doors only unlock one of them. It is therefore my habit, when someone is approaching, to step aside and allow them the use of the doorway first. This ensures that I don’t open the door into them, that they don’t open the door into me and just in general seemed like a courteous thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Aglet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aca169/32.png) [@Aglet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aglet)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/56 "2002-11-18T20:47:38Z")
A person (in my experience the most common offenders are female) who chews gum in a manner comparable to a cow chewing a big wad of grass. The sentence, usually in a book: “She threw up her arms in disgust.” This makes me think of a cartoon character spewing forth her own body parts. Feet-draggers (their own). ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/57 "2002-11-18T21:18:45Z")
Aglet, your first pet peeve is why I try not to chew gum in front of others. I would probably make a cow say, “Ugh, could she be any louder with that gum?”. Your third pet peeve is another one of mine. I just want to shake the person and ask them if they were raised by a pack of (feet-dragging) wolves. ---
**Author:** ![japatlgt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@japatlgt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/japatlgt)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/58 "2002-11-18T21:20:31Z")
People that say “vis a’ vis.” ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/59 "2002-11-18T21:30:07Z")
The Stroller People: At an outdoor, public event, like a parade or arts n craps festival… the people with strollers who see someone they know and stop and talk to them. In the middle of the corridor/hallway/traffic area. People. Please. Pull your stroller over to the side, out of the damn way, and proceed with your conversation. Do not stop in the middle of the midway to have a conversation while thousands of people stand there, waiting to get by. Corrollary to this, which appears to be regional: people who stop their cars in the middle of the street to have a conversation out the window. This seems to be indiginous to The South, although I have my doubts. Corrollary #2: Stopping your grocery cart in the middle of the aisle to chat with someone. Step aside people! ---
**Author:** ![kitarak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kitarak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitarak)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255/60 "2002-11-18T21:36:19Z")
Hmm. I can only think of two at the moment, and they’re both related to maths lectures. Boy I feel geeky. 🙂 1. Quantifiers go on the _left_. It has never, ever, been correct to put them on the right, and it makes a sentence impossible to read correctly unless you already know what it says. This is particularily bad when you’re dealing with statements where the difference between two particular ways of arranging the quantifiers is a fundamental part of the course - e.g. pointwise vs. uniform convergence. 2. Don’t use words like ‘suppose’, or ‘assume’ in proofs! You’re not making assumptions, you’re proving a conditional. It’s extremely poor usage. Trivial and rather specialised I know, but these two things are so common in lectures and they make me see red every time. I’m going to have to go do something sociable to raise my credibility now. 🙂 (Actually, no I won’t. I’m going to curl up with my newly bought copy of nightwatch - Ahh… bliss.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-most-trivial-pet-peeves/137255.md?page=4)