# Very Minor Things That REALLY Annoy You? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 28, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328 "2009-01-28T01:36:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/101 "2009-01-29T16:51:07Z")
> [@Karyn](#): > > It’s the opposite in all but the chain grocery stores here. If you ask for a bag in a natural foods store they act like it’s a crisis that you don’t have a dozen canvas bags with you at all times. If I can fit it in my purse I always do but if I have 15 items I don’t think it’s a crime against nature to ask for a bag. I’ve no problem using a bag if I’ve got more items than I can easily carry to my car. I’m talking about getting a bag for one single item. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/102 "2009-01-29T17:22:53Z")
My mother is dead and I’m unemployed, so I have no coworkers. Life is good. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/103 "2009-01-29T17:27:01Z")
Shoes left in the middle of the floor. Pisses me off and has since I was a kid. Many years ago, when my brother and I were teens, I found his Nike basketball shoes in the middle of the living room floor and I woke him out of a sound sleep by clouting him across the head with them. ---
**Author:** ![flex727](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@flex727](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flex727)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/104 "2009-01-29T17:40:32Z")
> [@Tenebras](#): > > Also, there’s this guy at my gym who went and changed the combination to his lock. Now I’ll have to bring my own $2 every time I work out so I can buy a PowerAde after I work out. > [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Were you stealing his drink then?? > [@Santo\_Rugger](#): > > No, the $2. I didn’t like the flavors he was bringing, or I would have. This is very confusing. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/105 "2009-01-29T18:27:06Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I’ve had the same combo lock since 2001 and now I’ll have to learn a whole new combination. Most decent combination locks should let you change the combination to anything you want. Just saying… ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/106 "2009-01-29T18:41:00Z")
> [@silk1976](#): > > Anyhow - back to the spirit of the OP - one thing that has been bothering me recently, and I’ve heard it a lot in political and sports talk arenas: > When someone is engaged in a discussion and asks and answers their own question in the same breath to make a point. > > Just say what the hell it is you want to say. I’ve started calling this the “Rumsfeld.” Do I remember anyone doing this before him? No I do not. Drives me up a friggin tree. Mumble Mumble. ---
**Author:** ![EpicNonsense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c37758/32.png) [@EpicNonsense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EpicNonsense)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/107 "2009-01-29T19:08:31Z")
Alright, I know I mentioned it earlier on but I have to add it again but this is just driving me up the wall lately. Another forum I’m on (web dev) this same person keeps on coming back for assistance and looking back on his threads he has never said thank you one time. I’ve helped him a few times also, and never once has this guy said thanks, or shown any appreciation such as “cool” “nice” a 🙂 or anything… No acknowledgment whatsoever It’s almost as if he just expects people to do the coding for him. I’m kinda glad people are starting to realize this guy is a total freeloader. To you freeloaders, please, for the love of… something, at least show some sort of acknowledgment when people give you free shit and spend time on you. It’s not asking much. Thanks… ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/108 "2009-01-29T22:49:15Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Not quite the same but very close. > > My parents divorced when I was about 13 yrs old. After the divorce, they always referred to each other as “your Father” or “your Mother”. I really don’t know what the proper protocol is, but it really irritated me when mom would say “you should call your Father” or Dad would say “give this to your Mother.” It sounds petty now that i am 48 yrs old, but I hated it when I was a kid. This annoyed me at 13, too. Now that I’m over 40 and divorced, I don’t know what else to say. His first name seems to harsh on the kid, what I really think of him is…er…unacceptable, as is what I call him in moments that the kid can’t hear me. So I end up saying, “Your father called, you need to call him back.” Though I do use ‘your dad’ from time to time. It’s better than “call that lazy ass who doesn’t bother to pay your child support.” For me, it’s eating in a quiet room. Gah! Make no noise at all, please. Yes, I know the person is chewing with their mouth closed and all that but if I can hear eating AT ALL - especially loud, crunchy stuff - GAH! UGH! STOP IT! ---
**Author:** ![Pixilated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aeb1de/32.png) [@Pixilated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixilated)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/109 "2009-01-30T02:25:56Z")
sniffing. constant sniffing - get a tissue & blow your freakin nose, please!. It’s like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. And people that make that gurgling noise in the depths of their throat - ewwwwww! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/110 "2009-02-02T01:15:25Z")
It bugs me unduly when news stories refer to a four-year-old as a toddler. Toddlers are quite literally children so very young that they’re still unsteady on their feet. Calling a developmentally typical three-year-old a toddler is really pushing it, because anyone who has ever had kids that age or taken care of them knows they can **run** , but someone age four?! How about using the word preschooler? (or the compound “preschool-aged” if they don’t actually attend preschool) That describes 3 to young 5-year-olds nicely. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/111 "2009-02-02T16:59:18Z")
You cannot ‘borrow’ something to someone, it’s ‘lend’ LEND **LEND!!!** ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/112 "2009-02-02T21:21:52Z")
> [@flex727](#): > > This is very confusing. 😕 It’s a joke, son. ---
**Author:** ![Charger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@Charger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charger)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/113 "2009-02-03T02:22:31Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > I don’t like it when people refer to their children as DD or DS on parenting message boards. I find it extremely obnoxious. It took me forever to realize it meant, “dear daughter” or “dear son,” which made me hate the abbreviation even more. I love my kid, but it reminds me of the “Dear Liza” song, which I cannot stand. My first encounter with this was a woman referring to her “DH.” I assumed she was a ballplayer with a special relationship with the designated hitter. For a while, I thought DH was “divorced husband.” Now, just to make it more tolerable, I tend to read it as “damn husband” or “dumb husband.” I wouldn’t mind this one if it used a phrase that people _actually_ use in conversation. I have never heard someone say, I have to pick up my dear son from school this afternoon. Gah! ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/114 "2009-02-03T04:19:56Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > 😕 My parents never got divorced, but that is exactly how they referred to each other all the time. I can’t think of any other way that sounds even halfway normal to me. > > “My husband wants to talk to you.” ??? > “Mrs. Brown needs your help in the kitchen.” ??? > “Give this to the female head of the household.” ??? > > How did they refer to each other when speaking to you PRIOR to the divorce? > Oh, wait, were you a family where the kids called the parents by their first names? Mom and Dad were always “Mom” and “Dad”. I guess they could have said, “Call your Dad” rather than “Call your Father”. It really just struck a nerve and I can’t pinpoint why. It was as if they were never ever a part of each other lives after the divorce. I guess I could compare it to one of them saying “to give this to your teacher.” As the OP queried, it is minor and it just irked me. Yes it was trivial. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/115 "2009-02-03T04:43:08Z")
People who get off the escalator and then stop there to either look around, or talk to someone…completely forgetting that the other people coming up the escalator have nowhere else to go! The last time this happened, I deliberately bumped into the person who just stopped dead at the top when I was two steps behind them. I apologized, but also said…“don’t just stop like that!” I understand if you are unfamiliar with where to go next, but just keep moving a few more steps! ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/116 "2009-02-03T07:18:20Z")
Not far from here is a second-hand clothing store called A Vintage Affair–that’s fair enough. Seems like a decent name for what it is. My only beef is that the signage reads, “A Vintage Affair…?” For some reason the addition of the ellipsis and question mark increase the lameness quotient several millionfold. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/117 "2009-02-03T13:21:01Z")
> [@Charger](#): > > My first encounter with this was a woman referring to her “DH.” I assumed she was a ballplayer with a special relationship with the designated hitter. For a while, I thought DH was “divorced husband.” Now, just to make it more tolerable, I tend to read it as “damn husband” or “dumb husband.” You’ve just made an irritating acronym bearable. I tip my hat to you. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/118 "2009-02-03T14:03:35Z")
> [@Charger](#): > > Now, just to make it more tolerable, I tend to read it as “damn husband” or “dumb husband.” I prefer Doodie Head. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/119 "2009-02-03T14:32:46Z")
> [@Buckler\_of\_Swashing](#): > > People who seem to operate on the premise that they, personally, never mishear or misspeak or misunderstand and that in any situation involving a miscommunication, their memory of it is the default correct memory unless you can PROVE otherwise. I must admit, I’m like this quite often. I’m trying to get better, though. In my defense, my wife’s MS causes her to misspeak pretty often. But not 100% as I once thought! ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328/120 "2009-02-03T14:43:03Z")
Waiters and waitresses who come over to ask “Are you still working on that?” WORKING on it? It’s a meal, not a TPS report! Aaargh! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-minor-things-that-really-annoy-you/483328.md?page=7)