# Totally irrational pet peeves. What are yours? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 6, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357 "2011-04-06T03:30:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/41 "2011-04-06T17:57:55Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Same here. I legitimately thought I didn’t totally hear/understand the question, but then my brain says, “oh hey, we were working on decoding that in the background while you were paying attention to that other thing, here you go,” and suddenly I realize I do know what was said. I’ll usually follow a “what?/huh?” with “oh!” or something similar to try to convey that now I get it. Yeah, I do that a lot, too. I know it’s annoying and I do try not to, but it’s sometimes almost a reflexive response. And the scarf loop thing too - sorry, I don’t know any other way to tie a scarf so that it stays put. I’m not trying to look like Jacques Brel. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/42 "2011-04-06T18:13:21Z")
> [@Kewk](#): > > Improper use of ellipsis. Three periods in succession people. Adding additional periods doesn’t accentuate your point. Just so we’re clear, are you sure _you_ know what the proper use of ellipsis is? You mention “accentuating a point,” but ellipsis isn’t used to make a point, it’s used to show where you have omitted text from something you are quoting. I know that it’s common to use an ellipsis to indicate a pause in written text, hell … I do it all the time. But that is not its _proper_ usage. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/43 "2011-04-06T18:21:26Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Another one for me. This one is on the boarder in that it’s irrational in that it’s not really hurting anyone, but I think it’s rational as well. At my store we have a sales person (someone that sells stuff TO us, not one of our employees) that stops in about once a week and likes to chit chat. That’s all well and good, the problem is, he can’t do it without touching people. As soon as he walks in I go to my desk or behind the register counter where he can’t get to me. He’s nice enough, I just don’t like being talked to while he has his hand on my shoulder or (the one I hate the most) when he’s got a grip on my elbow. Last week when he stopped in, I was sort of in a hurry and as he grabbed my elbow, I swung my arm around (nicely) just to sort of break his grip so I could keep walking and mumbled “don’t”, but sure if he heard me though. One of these days I just need to tell him to stop grabbing my arm when he’s talking to me. I would suggest telling him NOW. Touching someone without their consent is a legal assault, and it should not be tolerated. That is one of my bugs, and I always say the first time “I really don’t like peole touching me. Please stop it.” One of my jobs had an older male who thought it was funny to get behind a woman and grab her waist. The first time he did it, I asked nicely for him not to do it again. The second time, I told him if he did it once more, he would never do it again. The third time, I ran backwards and slammed him into the wall. He never did it again, and when he complained, I told my Boss that I had warned him twice about it. I’ve posted many a time about my totally irrational fear of those little wooden paddles people use to eat ice cream with. I despise them with every fiber of my being. If someone is using one when I can see it, I will have to stop what I am doing and get them a real spoon. Those wooden things totally gross me out. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/44 "2011-04-06T18:26:18Z")
> [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](#): > > Wearing your scarf that way is really really warm, you laugh at wind chill. Which makes me even more baffled that I saw people wearing them that way when I was on a canoeing trip in 90-degree weather. ---
**Author:** ![Kewk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ab992/32.png) [@Kewk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kewk)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/45 "2011-04-06T18:32:44Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Just so we’re clear, are you sure _you_ know what the proper use of ellipsis is? You mention “accentuating a point,” but ellipsis isn’t used to make a point, it’s used to show where you have omitted text from something you are quoting. > > I know that it’s common to use an ellipsis to indicate a pause in written text, hell … I do it all the time. But that is not its _proper_ usage. It is properly used both ways. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/46 "2011-04-06T18:35:27Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I’ve posted many a time about my totally irrational fear of those little wooden paddles people use to eat ice cream with. I despise them with every fiber of my being. If someone is using one when I can see it, I will have to stop what I am doing and get them a real spoon. > > Those wooden things totally gross me out. If we’re talking irrational gross-outs, rather than peeves, mine is salad bars. All that salad, just lying there in the open looking all innocent when you and I know it’s a seething mass of bacteria and skin flakes. “Help yourself to as much salad as you like!” Thank you, but I already have. The amount of salad I’d like from the festering salad bar of doom is _no salad_. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/47 "2011-04-06T18:44:47Z")
> [@Kewk](#): > > It is properly used both ways. I’m interested. Can you provide an example of using ellipsis to ‘accentuate a point’? And can you cite any recognised authority that supports your contention? I’m not being antagonistic about this, BTW. I would have thought you were wrong, but I’m open to correction. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/48 "2011-04-06T18:44:54Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I would suggest telling him NOW. Touching someone without their consent is a legal assault, and it should not be tolerated. That is one of my bugs, and I always say the first time “I really don’t like peole touching me. Please stop it.” > > One of my jobs had an older male who thought it was funny to get behind a woman and grab her waist. The first time he did it, I asked nicely for him not to do it again. The second time, I told him if he did it once more, he would never do it again. > > The third time, I ran backwards and slammed him into the wall. He never did it again, and when he complained, I told my Boss that I had warned him twice about it. It might _technically_ be assault, but if I had him arrested or body checked him (I’m also male BTW) for putting his hand on my shoulder or grabbing my elbow while he’s talking, I’d be the asshole. It should be mentioned that it _annoys_ me, but that’s about the extent of it. It annoys me to the point that if I hear is voice I go behind the register counter so he doesn’t do it. He’s not hurting me, he’s not harassing me, he’s annoying me. It doesn’t make me so uncomfortable that I’m looking to take legal action against him. It Think about the episode of Friends where Chandlers new boss was spanking him. Like that, but less spanky and more shoulder grabby. I should note that if instead of grabbing my elbow, he was grabbing my waist (as you mentioned) I certainly would have told him to knock it off. If he did it to one of my female employees he would have been asked to leave the premises and not come back, especially if I felt that there was any sexual innuendo involved at all, even in a joking manner. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/49 "2011-04-06T18:51:29Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I’ve posted many a time about my totally irrational fear of those little wooden paddles people use to eat ice cream with. I despise them with every fiber of my being. If someone is using one when I can see it, I will have to stop what I am doing and get them a real spoon. > > Those wooden things totally gross me out. I don’t fear them but they are loathsome for sure. They give me goosebumps to even think about. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/50 "2011-04-06T20:58:56Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > Medical workers (nurses, phlebotomists, etc.) get a pass from me on the Crocs at work. Everyone else needs to get some proper damn work shoes. I don’t get this. Why is it appropriate for medical workers but not a million other jobs where you are on your feet the entire day? It’s not appropriate for anyone on the job in my opinion. Even nurses. And hell, Crocs aren’t the most comfortable shoes on the planet either. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/51 "2011-04-06T21:07:58Z")
Whistling really gets under my skin. So does the Weather Channel. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/52 "2011-04-06T21:17:29Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > I don’t get this. Why is it appropriate for medical workers but not a million other jobs where you are on your feet the entire day? It’s not appropriate for anyone on the job in my opinion. Even nurses. > > **And hell, Crocs aren’t the most comfortable shoes on the planet either**. Then please tell me what are, and I will buy them! Seriosuly, I am floored by the Crocs hate. Are you guys just talking about the super-ginormous rubber clogs they make? Like this: [Sites-crocs\_us-Site](http://www.crocs.com/crocs-rx-relief/10003,default,pd.html?cid=410&cgid=women-footwear-clogs) Because, you know, they also make some normal shoes: [Sites-crocs\_us-Site](http://www.crocs.com/crocs-alice-work/11050,default,pd.html?cid=206&cgid=women-footwear-work) and even leather: [Sites-crocs\_us-Site](http://www.crocs.com/crocs-lavender/10518,default,pd.html?cid=060&cgid=women-footwear-work) > **[Sites-crocs\_us-Site](https://www.crocs.com/crocs-harborline/11371,default,pd.html?cid=462&cgid=new-arrivals)** and have you ever tried on a pair? Because I’m not wearing anything else until someone proves to me that Cubby is telling the truth! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/53 "2011-04-06T22:32:33Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Seriosuly, I am floored by the Crocs hate. /points at thread title > [@](#): > > Because, you know, they also make some normal shoes: [Sites-crocs\_us-Site](http://www.crocs.com/crocs-alice-work/11050,default,pd.html?cid=206&cgid=women-footwear-work) Rubber Mary Janes are not “normal.” > [@](#): > > and even leather: [Sites-crocs\_us-Site](http://www.crocs.com/crocs-lavender/10518,default,pd.html?cid=060&cgid=women-footwear-work) OK, that’s normal. Plastic shoes always make me think that someone’s forgotten to change out of their gardening/beach shoes and into proper going-out-in-public shoes. Either that or my [“jellies”](http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/175-5798141-3157461?asin=B003RC5P4E&AFID=Froogle_df&LNM=%7CB003RC5P4E&CPNG=baby&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=B003RC5P4E&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001) flashbacks are affecting me worse than I thought… ---
**Author:** ![Kewk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ab992/32.png) [@Kewk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kewk)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/54 "2011-04-06T23:29:05Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > I’m interested. Can you provide an example of using ellipsis to ‘accentuate a point’? And can you cite any recognised authority that supports your contention? > > I’m not being antagonistic about this, BTW. I would have thought you were wrong, but I’m open to correction. I guess I misread your reply (was in a rush to get back to work from lunch). I thought you said an ellipsis CAN’T be used to indicate a pause. My reply was saying it can be used as a pause and omitted text. Also, my original reply was saying adding addition periods to an ellipsis doesn’t accentuate a point. Many people like to do stupid shit like this… ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/55 "2011-04-07T01:35:44Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > Which makes me even more baffled that I saw people wearing them that way when I was on a canoeing trip in 90-degree weather. That _is_ weird, as soon as I warm up I or get out of the wind I get too hot and just have to unloop mine. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/56 "2011-04-07T03:43:00Z")
Men that wear shoes or boots with leather soles that make click-clack sounds when walking on hard surfaces. Totally rational but I have to vent a little…people that hum or whistle at work or anywhere they have a captive audience. Bad enough when they whistle a recognizable tune but 100 times worse when it’s just random whistling noises. Been driving me nuts at work lately. I feel better now. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/57 "2011-04-07T11:54:54Z")
> [@saje](#): > > So what should I do with it? I tie it around my waist because I want my hands free, it’s not meant to be a fashion statement. By all means, carry on. Just know that it looks ridiculous. mmm ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/58 "2011-04-07T13:01:38Z")
It should also be mentioned that Crocs are WAY more comfortable than no-name lookalike knockoffs. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/59 "2011-04-07T13:45:20Z")
People who type “your” for “you’re” and “there” for “their.” This is irrational especially because of my own many (many) typos. Yet every time I see it I feel the urge to correct it. (Although I can’t remember ever doing so, except maybe once or twice in jest.) ---
**Author:** ![Orionizer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orionizer/32/4442_2.png) [@Orionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orionizer)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357/60 "2011-04-07T15:05:51Z")
> [@Kewk](#): > > When you say something to someone and they say “What?” then answer the question without you replying to “What?”. I have somebody at work that does this (says “Huh?” instead of “What?”, but still). When he does this, I say the same thing MMMUUUCCCHHH SSSLLLOOOWWWEEERRR and LOUDER. I still don’t think he gets it, but it makes me feel so much better! 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totally-irrational-pet-peeves-what-are-yours/577357.md?page=4)