"What's your opinion on that? talk... Why do you think X? talk..." - ::suppressed homicidal rage::

The BBQ Pit
1

Really, why do some people ask questions (not retorical one but ones that call for an answer) then don’t let me answer? My SO (whom I love to distraction) is a prime example of that:

xxx xxxx xxx*?** xx xx xx.x xx xx xx! xx xx xx xx**?** xx xx x xx xx. xx xx xx xx xx. xx xx xx xx xx xx xx**?** xx xx xx xx! xx xx xx xx. Why is steam coming out of your ears?*

What do these people expect - that you have pen and notepad ready in order to write down the answers to four or five questions, to be answered in the correct order when they finally relinquish their turn?

I would very much like have the following crime on the books: “making an utterance matching /?\s*\S+/”. Punishment: public flogging, to be televised.

2

I’m having trouble making sense of your OP. I’d ask you a couple questions about it, but I’m afraid you’d start yelling at me.

3

The legal profession earns enough ire for impenetrable legalese without adding regex to legislation.

4

I add regex to my laundry for particularly tough stains.

5

A regex shot my Pa.

6

I understand the OP, it wasn’t that complicated. I get irritated, too. I’D ANSWER YOU IF YOU’D JUST SHUT UP.

My SO doesn’t have that problem, thankfully. But he does have the problem where he will walk into the room while I am watching a show and start asking questions. “Who is he? Why did he kill her? What’s that?” UGH. One of these days…

7

Just to watch him dye.

Regards,
Shodan

8

I like it even more when they start asking questions as you are LEAVING the room.

Close second when they start right as you are about the crank up something really loud like a chainsaw:smack:

And third place. When they get mad when you don’t know something.

9

The differing hoo-man behavior patterns can indeed be quite puzzling.

10

I can rewind it. (We have a DVR.)

No, that’s OK.

(SO sits in chair. Pause for about two minutes.) So, are those two having an affair?

I can rewind it.

No, that’s OK, I’m not really watching it. I’m going to do the dishes. (Goes into kitchen for two minutes.) So, who’s this guy? Is he a suspect? Are the police on surveillance?

I can rewind it.

No, that’s OK.

And so forth.

11

Those Vulcans were on to something.

Meet every 7 years or so and fuck. Then move on until the next 7 years is up.

Ever see a unhappy or stressed out Vulcan?

Thats why.

12

Even worse is the habit of public officials to ask themselves questions and then answer them. Does this habit bother me? Well, of course it does. Am I able to do anything about it? I could punch myself in the face. Am I a tedious, verbose and pompous asshole? Why. . .yes. . .yes, I am.

13

Funny, technically, you broke this more than once in your OP. :stuck_out_tongue:

Seriously, though, yes it can be a bit bothersome, but that’s a manner of speaking that it seems some people use. Personally, I’m the type to think things through and speak when I have a general idea where I’m going, but sometimes I get going on a stream of consciousness and those prompting questions that might otherwise have been in my head end up getting spoken out loud. Though, I don’t get into that stream of consciousness around other people terribly often.

For some people, though, they think by talking. So, yeah, they’ll ask a question that seems directed at those around them but isn’t actually. So, where I might internally wonder “Why did so-and-so do that?” then speak when I have a conclusion, some people just spit it all out. One thing I do like about it, assuming I’m genuinely interested in a deeper conversation with and getting to know someone, is that it exposes their though process, which means I have direct access to everything between A and Z and not just the conclusion, which can make it difficult to actually understand where they’re coming from. In fact, that’s part of why I don’t often put that stuff out, because it can actually end up being a very intimate sort of conversation, even if it’s not about something terribly deep, because you get to see the gears in action.

In fact, some food for thought would be, if this is something your SO does for everyone, then it just means she’s the type to think out loud. OTOH, if it’s something more unique to just you, it may be a sign of trust and intimacy that she feels with you and not others. And, if so, might be something you could appreciate more, in a sort of endearing foible sort of way.

As for Chefguy’s example, I’ve heard those people called Question-Talkers, and that’s almost always deliberate. A rhetorical question answered by the speaker can be used for impact from time to time, but some people just overdo it, and it seems to me that it’s usually a politician or manager trying to express authority or gain credibility or something like that. I will typically just mark them in the other column if that’s how they think they can gain either.

14

Every Vulcan I’ve ever seen looks permanently pissed off.

15

That’s constipation. Different problem entirely.

16

Sister mine!

It’s gotten to the point that whenever he wanders in I will pause the movie, say “Pay attention!” tell him the plot, and then resume. AND HE STILL ASKS QUESTIONS.

17

You know what is irritating as hell?

People who plop in halfway through a movie and ask “whats up with XYZ?”

You know what way more irritating than that?

People who do the same thing with a complicated series like Lost or Twelve Monkeys when you are barely able to keep track yourself.

18

My DH (love him, yada, yada) will be watching something with me. He’ll get up and leave the room for awhile (reasons unknown). He can hear the TV from wherever he is. When he comes back in, he’ll rewind it to some spot where he lost track. So even though he’s heard it all, he wants to watch it. He won’t just pause it while he’s gone. Makes me crazy.

19

Properly known as the “reverse Columbo.”

20

“I don’t know and I have no opinion” - works every time …