Meaningless things that annoy you

Buzz words and phrases like “wheelhouse”. I never heard it before and suddenly it was all over the place in business speak. I had to look up what a wheelhouse was.

OP It was widely used in the 1980s, like 40 years ago. I still use it sometimes when I don't want to be neither formal nor too friendly.

People who just hate Trump or Russians. They're silent about China.

I hate “I’m sorry for your loss.” Whenever I hear it, I think of some bitchy teenage girl being forced to apologize/sympathize when she doesn’t mean it.

I could swear it’s a phrase that has become more widely used in the last 15 years or so. I don’t remember it earlier than that.

Granular or granularity. Whatever the word is, I don't care. First time I heard that in an office meeting, I laughed. The person saying was a pretentious asshole to start with so this only made matters worse. Then I started seeing people using granular, on TV especially and thought this is another trend.

I agree, OP - that's a stupid email signature, and I see it a lot in my company as well.

I had when people say that someone "passed." They're dead.

^ Hate not had

People sitting next to you on public transport when there are other seats available. Like, why am I so irresistible to you, you loon? Made worse if they want to chat.

OR

The bus is full but NOBODY sits next to you. There's nothing more ego-deflating in the world! Do I smell? Do I look like a criminal? Did I fart and not hear it? Am I just a bundle of hatefulness??

That’s fucking hilarious r9.

From one extreme to the other.

People who say "I'm like." You're LIKE?

"I'm like, are you kidding me? and she's like, no, I'm not!"

Incorrect use of the word paradigm.

Can you give an example, r12?

I’m hoping I’m not guilty of it.

People who come and park right next to me when there's plenty of parking all around.

People who say "I, myself..."

R14 That is my husband's biggest pet peeve!

People who cannot put down their telephones. I was trying to assist a customer who would not stop talking on her phone. I had to ask her several questions that she could not answer immediately so I had to repeat each question. I grew tired of this and closed her customer profile screen. I then motioned to the next customer to step forward. The telephone lady had a shocked look on her face but she continued her phone conversation. I did assist her after she finished her phone call and she was quite snippy. I hate it for you, Darling, but my time is important and the other customer's time is important. I'm not going to make them wait while you do things that are obviously more important to you.

[quote]I had when people say that someone "passed." They're dead.

r7 maybe they passed a slow-moving Winnebago.

From personal experience I would rather have someone say “sorry for your loss” then say “your loved one is now in a better place.”

R19 I agree. Those grieving do not typically feel that way at that moment.

I have no problem with sorry for your loss.

It beats the hell out of, “so, when are you going to start dating again?”

I hate, hate, hate, HATE non-Brits, who sign emails with "Cheers!"

I know Americans who do this as well r22

[quote] The bus is full but NOBODY sits next to you. There's nothing more ego-deflating in the world! Do I smell? Do I look like a criminal? Did I fart and not hear it? Am I just a bundle of hatefulness??

I found this to be the case in Japan. On the train, nobody wanted to sit next to the white guy. I ended up standing a lot because I felt guilty.

Other than people who can't seem to figure out their nose goes UNDER the mask, I get driven to distraction by people who walk their dogs with retractable leashes and are too busy on their phones to notice the dog has wandered over to the opposite side of the sidewalk and now the leash cord is stretched across the walkway. Walking in the city is hazardous enough without having to step over your dog's tautly-pulled leash.

R23 “I’ll take a triple espresso ASAP!”

Someone said this to me and I was like, “isn’t that too granular a criticism? I mean like, get a life!”

Best,

The OP

People who use "preventative" to make something sound important, when "preventive" has the same meaning.

For me it is the breeziness of "passed" that is annoying. Abbreviating, "Best wishes" to "Best" is not an assault on human dignity, but abbreviating "passed away" to "passed" is.

You do not hear anyone abbreviating "passed gas," but abbreviating is fine when it is about someone's mortality?

R4 I was gonna write the same thing. Especially in TV drama. These writers have no imagination.

I think the phrase shows up in TV drama because it is the kind of non-committal expression of sympathy that professionals are trained to make to people they encounter in the course of their work duties.

However, people are now imitating it in personal relationships where it sounds very cold and unfeeling.

people who say "utilize" instead of "use."

People who add "right?" at the end of every other sentence.

People who say "That's not my forte", and pronounce it "FOR tay", as in the musical notation. Its just plain old "FORT."

Stop trying to sound piss elegant.

"Thoughts and prayers" and "There are no words" have both become overused.

R34, both pronunciations are actually accurate.

"Surreal" is the most overused word in this century.

I’m on another forum that has mostly brits on it and all they do is shit on “the septics.” “Passed” is a major stick they use to beat Americans with in their bigoted rants.

Yet when one of them died, and they were incredibly broken up about it, it was “passed, passed, passed!” It was hilarious but I didn’t point out the rank hypocrisy because I would have been instantly banned.

“You got this!”

Actually it's fortE, with a hard e at the end. The word is Italian and obviously means strength. "Fort" is completely wrong.

Given that about 80% of the word-related emails I get are signed off with "Best" OP must be in high dudgeon on a regular basis.

^^work-related

Though "word-related" is a sort of funny typo

WimbleTon....pundiNt....verse instead of versus. Unfortunately all of these have caught on.

If it's meaningless things, why can they bother you? They should mean nothing to you. Relax, OP, your cunt is too clenched.

Actually, FOR-tay is an acceptable pronunciation

Wearing a suit sans socks. Disgusting.

I'd rather wear no socks than wear a suit.

Other people.

I got one, I got one!

When English and American people (but especially Brits) unironically say Barthelona and Ibitha.

That actually makes me laugh.

I've never heard anyone pronounce "forte" as "fort." That must be a regional thing.

When people sign off with "God bless." I'm not a religious person, so whenever I hear this, I'm slightly taken aback and respond, "Uh, okay... thank you." Do they expect a "God bless" back?

R41, Be best!

Have a blessed day, r51!

R53, that one too.

KEY TAKEAWAY: Eldergays have a high number of triggers. Hence all the hissing.

The dreaded glottal stop, along with glottal fry.

I will never, ever understand the need to audibly yawn with dramatics. I have to force myself to not engage in the Fight of Fight or Flight every time. My partner's family, sans him, all do this, and it would seem it is because they desperately need attention over how tired they are.

Oh r55, have you spent 12 minutes on a whiny reddit page full of teens-20 somethings? RuPaul's drag race subs are full of things that annoy them, but you may have to wear ear plugs against all of the shrieking.

forte

R36, et al:

The word forte (pronounced “fort”) is a French word meaning “strength” that is used in English to refer to one’s talent or ability.

Example: English is my forte.

This word is often mispronounced “FOR-tay” because it is confused with the Italian word forte (pronounced “FOR-tay”). The words are spelled the same but have different pronunciations and meanings. If you play a musical instrument, you will probably recognize the Italian word as a term meaning “loud.” When referring to ability, the correct pronunciation is “fort,” but in music, it is always “FOR-tay.”

R34 they are different. FOR-tay is used only in music.

R19 Agree and they usually follow “he’s in a better place” with “and I really believe that...” um, okay but who are you trying to convince?

In English when there are two "c's," the first "c" takes a K sound. Think of Success. Most people mispronounce Flaccid as FLA-sid. it's FLAK-sid.

That horrible Silver Singles commercial, when she says “I wanted to get back into dating again...” like it’s a sport or something.

(R34) How often do you hear people say this?

Biden supporters.

This may be shocking to some of you, but pronunciation changes over time.

When I was younger, I knew a number of people born between 1910 and 1930 who pronounced "beautiful" "beauty-ful"

R56 uh yes. There are these young women at work that pronounce Button "buh-EN" and Martin "Mut-EN"

I SERIOUSLY WANT TO PUNCH THEM IN THE THROAT!

Cashiers being required to ask "Did you find everything you were looking for?"

WHY would anyone wait until checkout to ask where an item they are looking for is located or if the store carries it? There are associates in the aisles and Customer Service Desks for this.

When I am, watching a show, usually a sitcom, and every single space in their home is taken up with meaningless, useless stuff. Counters do not have a square inch of free space (often cupboards are not full but they have spice canisters and cereal boxes on the counter). Fake flowers next to lamps that would never be used, dozens of framed photos on the table, a few of the kids framed photos next to the bed on the nightstand. etc. no one has that much junk.

People who actually want China to replace America (and more broadly, the west) as THE superpower.

People who post "looking gorg", short for gorgeous, on peoples pictures who are clearly ugly.

The slurping noises my dog makes when he drinks his water bowl.

Foreigners with major cognitive dissonance. They are virulent nationalists when it comes to their home countries but they suddenly become liberals and "woke" when they move to the west---while still being nationalistic about their home countries.

White people who listen to rap music obsessively, try to copy the lingo but are huge raging conservatives who are anti-black. WTF is up with that?!

JANBOT

People who don't wear deodorant

People who smell like spices

People who spell like spices plus BO.

Hair all over the bathroom floor, toilet or in the corners of rooms.

OK, not all of these things are meaningless, but oh well.

The fact that "No problem" has replaced "You're welcome" to everyone under forty-five.

It's shabby, dumb, and actually sort of rude.

No problem is much better than "no worries".

Among the other vocabulary used incorrectly, I hate when people misuse the word "antithesis" as meaning "the example of". It actually means the opposite of something.

Drivers who don’t use the turn signal.

People who use antiquated phrases like “found purchase”.

I hate the word "optics" and it's so overused in the workplace. It always makes the self satisfied person who says it feel like they made some grand proclamation of how something looks.

I hate the word "optics" and it's so overused in the workplace. It always makes the self satisfied person who says it feel like they made some grand proclamation of how something looks.

I will never ever except well wishes, as in “I received a lot of well wishes for my birthday.”

Confusing old-fashioned and old-school. There is something admirable in being old-school but old-fashioned is just not moving with the times.

“You do you,” and “You got this.”

I am with you R71. Saying “no problem” means that the person helping you did not find you obnoxious. “No worries” is less irksome but still too casual.

“Between you and I” — too much of a jerk move to correct but it really grates on me.

Dangers of dictating a response — *accept*

"I can't even".

You can't even WHAT, fuckwad?

“Pivot”, like all corporate buzzwords, came from nowhere and is now EVERYWHERE.

The expression “in and of itself” - verbal and written Hamburger Helper.

“So,...”.

Why are you obsessed with China, r70? So weird.

[quote]Whenever I get an email signed off "Best" I see the sender as someone who thoughtlessly follows trends.

OP: I agree. So I've started ending my emails with "Be Best!" It usually brings a chuckle.

New buzzword - inflection point. Where did that come from?

Agree with OP. Best reminds me of “be best.”

[quote] I will never, ever understand the need to audibly yawn with dramatics. My partner's family, sans him, all do this, and it would seem it is because they desperately need attention over how tired they are.

I think they’re desperately trying to tell you they’re bored in your presence.

R68, Here in the Boston area, CVS cashiers are instructed to ask "Do you want a bag?", even if you're purchasing multiple items.

STAPLES is worse. Not only do customers get "Do you want a bag?", they also get "Do you want your receipt?".

R87, did you perhaps misspeak? I don’t get this:

[quote] CVS cashiers are instructed to ask "Do you want a bag?", even if you're purchasing multiple items.

It’s precisely when I’m buying multiple items I think the offer of a bag is appropriate.

"Found purchase" is pretty awful.

That one idiot in every Zoom meeting or group work chat that constantly asks inane questions.

^^Especially when those inane questions come at the end, have essentially been addressed in the meeting, and make the meeting go 20 minutes longer than absolutely necessary.

I don't mind "So sorry for your loss." Most of us are at a loss of words at moments like this.

I was at a wake once, and a woman came up to the widow of the man who had died and said to her, "Well, now you're in the club." The widow looked at her as if she had two heads and said, "Well, it's one I'd rather not be in."

I live alone now, but I remember when a messed up newspaper would annoy me. Really asinine, because it would be so nice to have someone around in whom I'd get annoyed by the meaningless things like that he did.

“Close proximity”

I avoid using cliches. For instance, R39 mentioned "you got this" seems to be used way too often. I agree. I once worked near someone who used cliches almost exclusively when she spoke. Such as:

Here we go again Better luck next time Back atcha Working hard or hardly working TGIF

Ops - forgot to list the phases above

"Robust." It used to be used only in coffee commercials. Now it is corporate buzzspeak.

[quote] Why are you obsessed with China, [R70]? So weird.

I mentioned it once, wtf are you talking about?

[quote] The fact that "No problem" has replaced "You're welcome" to everyone under forty-five

I used to do retail training and I would instruct my classes NEVER to let me hear them say 'No Problem'.

"My pleasure', "You're welcome", even the somewhat stuffy 'Not at all', were okay, but if I heard 'No problem' during the week I was in their store, they'd be hearing about it. It still drives me crazy when I hear it.

I also spent a miserable part of my career training at Blockbuster Video. I noticed that customers would bristle when the cashier said 'The computer says you have unpaid late fees'. so I asked them to say 'Our records show you have some late fees which have not been paid'.

I guess I was trying to conjure up an image of a kindly old gray-haired woman, meticulously keeping the ledger in the back room rather than some faceless IBM mainframe back in Dallas. For whatever reason, people responded much more positively to that phrase.

I don't understand all the dislike of "No problem." The lead-up to "no problem" is that someone in a service job probably did something satisfactory for you.

R99 - a couple of reasons... 1. It's not a complete sentence.

2. No one said the thing was a problem. Someone said thank you. If someone said, "'I'm sorry to be a problem." and the response was, "Oh, it's no problem." That would make sense. But dullards are saying 'no problem' in reply to thank you.

[quote]1. It's not a complete sentence.

MARY!!!!!!!!!

I understand the context, R100. "No problem" can be a sentence as can "You're welcome."

My point was that when you say "Thank you" and the other person says "no problem," you probably received just something of value, no matter how small.

R71, no problem, no worries, don't mention it, it was nothing, all mean the same thing and is preferable to the pat response "you're welcome," which has fallen out of favor with English language teachers.

R102 I fully understand the intent. But, this thread is about meaningless things that annoy us. When I haven't told someone "I'm sorry I created a problem for you," yet they still say "no problem" when I've said "thank you," it's annoying - not the end of the world, but a meaningless thing that annoys me.

R103 and all those phrases are equally stupid.

What's wrong with "You're welcome" and who are these English teachers it has fallen out of favor with?

English with Lucy also thinks "you're welcome" is overused.

"Of course" as a response to thank you is also annoying.

Fuck that bitch!

Endless travel

Understood, R104. I just see posters, in lots of different thread, complaining about "no problem." I've worked in service (restaurants / hotels), so, I'm probably sensitive to customers acting like assholes even if you just did something for them.

I detest people who use the term "purchase," as in, "It's only found purchase in the past 5-7 years, I'd say."

THERE'S a tedious cunt.

Best,

I think the "of course" and "no problem" thing has gained popularity as America got less monolinguistic. In the Romance languages, for example, the traditional way of saying thank you is usually a variation of one of these two.

Spanish and Portuguese: "de nada" - translates literally into "It's nothing" aka "No problem." Italian: "Prego" which also loosely translates as "not a problem" French: "De rien" is "it's nothing"

It's telling the person there's no need to be grateful, because you weren't put out at all. I don't personally find it rude at all, but that's just me.

R112 How have I not ever heard that phrase. What is it even supposed to mean?

I fucking hate "no joy" to mean "it didn't work." It's something white Boomer men love saying while problem-solving. "I tried that already, but no joy."

"What's your damage" kind of annoys me.

R116, I haven't heard that phrase since Heathers.

I am a white boomer man, r115, and I have never heard "no joy" before. Not even once.

Fuck some "no problem" cunt gently with a chain saw, r116.

I didn't say that all white Boomer men said it, R118, just that the only people who say it are white older men. You hear it a lot among corporate middle managers, for example. Not everything is about you.

"agency"

to me, that's always meant talent agency, but people use it to mean "action or intervention, especially such as to produce a particular effect."

Having suffered the loss of a parent this year (thanks TRUMP!), I'm tired of 'may her memory be a blessing'.

R98’s post proves it’s not what you say but how you say it that makes a difference.

My condolences, r120.

"It's nothing" is not the same thing as "no problem."

The former minimizes the effort being thanked quaintly. The latter assures the recipient being thanked that they did not find the action performed to be a problem. It is quite two different things, and the people who fail to understand the difference embody the crudeness of those in public today who insist on offending others because they are too stupidly lazy and selfish to do otherwise.

R115 weird I have never once heard someone say "no joy." I wonder if it's a regional thing?

R124 I got curious and looked it up. Apparently "no joy" was originally a British WW2-era aviation call which meant "the enemy wasn't in sight yet" or "I wasn't able to establish contact." It was subsequently coopted by American military people, and cops, firemen and other first responders, and also wannabes and American ex military brats born after WW2, also use it to mean an attempt at something was unsuccessful.

So my observation that it's mostly older American white guys who use the term and the reason why it's so fucking annoying were both totally justified and correct.

“May I help who’s next?” bugs me. It just doesn’t sound right, though I guess it’s technically proper English.

Pubes left on the bar of soap. I find it rude.

People who don't pay attention to hogging up the whole g.d. sidewalk.

"Thinking outside the box", I've always found that expression excruciating.

Not meaningless, but gross, people with terrible hygiene. If you have access to a shower and soap, there's no excuse to reek.

More corporate buzz-shit-speak:

“I’ll take carriage of that”. What’s wrong with “I’ll do that”?

“Litigate” in anything other than a legal context.

People who love huge spaces between their car and the one in front of them at lights. It's so stupid - pull up already, 2 cars could fit in the gap you've left, you fat whore.

LEAVE

[quote]This may be shocking to some of you, but pronunciation changes over time.

When I was a child in the '50s, the word [italic]protein[/italic] was always pronounced PRO-tee-inn. Over the years it evolved to today's PRO-teen. I listen to the nostalgic radio channel on Sirius/XM, and it's fun to listen to the old-timey mid-century food commercials saying pro-tee-in.

“Start a conversation.”

People who have to back into parking spot even when there's a huge line of cars behind them.

since we're on about transit (and btw i don't think these are meaningless things):

1: the person who stands in front of an empty seat, but doesn't sit in it, thereby blocking access to it. i have seen this on crowded subways even;

2: the person who stands broad-ways to the door, and doesn't move when it opens. hugging the door is okay, but you've got to turn sideways when you stop at a station. real bullying move this.

People who drive really really slowly. Got stuck behind someone doing 30 in a sixty zone. I wanted to kill them.

R87: in Ireland, they ask "do you need a bag?" in shops, as customers are more likely to answer "no."

R137, I wouldn't necessarily call that meaningless...especially if you're running late for something important.

People wearing pajama pants out in public. I don’t think I’m a snob, but I find it low class to go shopping in pajamas. It’s not that hard to put on a pair of pants-even sweatpants are fine.

R140 I agree. My family was modest growing up and we wouldn’t be caught dead wearing pajamas in public. We’d call those people hillbillies!

I think this might be an only in New York thing, but I often get an “uh-huh” in response to thank you, especially from outer borough women of a certain age. The first few times I heard it, I thought the other person was questioning the sincerity of my thanks. But the more I heard it I realized the tone is not hostile; it’s similar to the way one might say “don’t mention it” or “yes, of course.” I now find it charming in its way.

Didn't read through the entire thread. "Best" to me means "fuck you, I don't care about your opinion or response., so don't even bother responding." it's the least possible way you can end the letter without being a dickhead. i mean, i guess you could at least put your name at the end with nothing else added.

My teacher taught us that the ‘fort’ pronunciation was correct but that ‘fortay’ is now acceptable because it was mispronounced for so long. Just like “home in” was correct but so many said ‘hone in’ that it’s becoming used even on NPR.

Still bothers me as does “begging the question” bring used incorrectly. I’m always surprised how many supposedly we’ll-educated say “between you and I”.

The phrase “price point” instead of “price.” TV weather people that needs to add the word “hours” everywhere... snow during the evening hours, rain during your overnight hours...sun during the morning hours. Uuuggh!!!

Nothing makes my blood boil like work emails with the subject "hey" or something similar, especially if it's someone you email frequently. How are you supposed to search for anything?

R113 "prego“ in Italian doesn’t loosely translate as "it’s nothing". It literally means "I bid you" or "I’m asking / imploring you for it“.

It’s the same as French "je t‘en prie“ and German "bitte".

R19 "I'm sorry for your loss".

My knee-jerk response has often been, "Why? Did you have anything to do with it?"

R40, Same for the word "cache".

The guys who have to use the urinal or bathroom stall right next to you when there are up to 10 available.

I’ve always irrationally disliked “Greetings” as a salutation. Unless, of course, one is an alien. “Greetings, earthlings,” is then an acceptable salutation.

"Natural light." What the fuck happened to just saying sunlight... or daylight... light? But no, nowadays we have to admire this "natural light coming in through the window." What the fuck other kind of light would there be from outside? NO ONE visits these places at night, thus, no one would ever be commenting on the wonderful artificial light. Jesus Fucking Christ.

It's to the point now where someone last week said... wait for it... natural daylight. Yes, that was said by a house hunter. NATURAL DAYLIGHT.

I hate when people refer to others or us "folks" in pretty much any context. It sounds so country and uneducated. Or people who are from the south constantly saying "y'all" on purpose in a major city to draw attention. Not cute.

I HATE HATE the words craft and curate. Shut the fuck up you millennial asshole

‘Thanks in advance’ or TIA

‘And go!’ At the end of a request post usually on Facebook.

Y’all has been creeping into more frequent use outside the southern US. Worse are people who wrote it as ya’ll.

People "feeling blessed" in their social media posts (brags)

On public transport, if someone puts their bag down to prevent someone else from sitting next to them - I'll ask you to move your bag and sit next to you even if there is other free seats.

R145 And price point instead of price range - often said on House Hunter - 'it's outside of our price point'

Banks and stores that make staff say "Next Guest" to people waiting in line. I'm not a guest, I'm a customer!

Restaurant servers who ask if you're still working on your meal, as if it's a project. And when they bring the leftovers container to the table and leave it for you to fill instead of taking care of it themselves.

People who don't push their chairs back to the table when they get up to leave.

[quote]People who say "I'm like." You're LIKE? "I'm like, are you kidding me? and she's like, no, I'm not!"

These threads are always full of complaints dating back to 1983.

"Best" was the valediction used in the official correspondence of an insurance company I worked for in the late 1990s. These were old templates so I updated them with "Sincerely," but I suspect they're now back to "Best" again.

[quote]I had when people say that someone "passed." They're dead.

No one here is left over from the Usenet groups, are they? We used to have phrases like "No longer shopping the Pig" and "in the stereo cabinet" for when someone died. It would have made most of you apoplectic.

“Do you need a bag” is asked by cashiers because most of us do our shopping with BAGS WE BRING WITH US, to protect the PLANET from OVERUSE of its resources by thoughtless morons.

Who on earth leaves their apartment nowadays without a bag to put their purchases in? Who embarks on a deliberate errand to get something, without a bag or backpack to carry home their items? Have you never seen nature shows featuring hapless sea animals choking on useless redundant plastic shopping bags, you thoughtless twat?

(Pre pandemic, of course—lots of stores won’t let you use your own bag now to protect against contagion.)

Best,

Exasperated

[quote]Wearing a suit sans socks. Disgusting.

How very DARE you!

"It is what it is." Isn't this self-evident? Has anything ever not been what it was?

Also, "I seen" is a pet peeve of mine. I often see "I seen" on Facebook.

"Irregardless"

"The DNC rigged the primary"

"Bernie would have won!"

R166, do you hang around hillbilly character from films of the 30s through 60s? I have never heard "I seen" it in real life, but it occurs all the time in those films.

Rose Twitter.

The use of “clap back” or “we need to talk about...” in news or story headlines

R168. Those send me into a rage too.

So... this happened..."

[quote]I’m always surprised how many supposedly we’ll-educated say “between you and I”.

Oops...

[quote]even if there is other free seats.

Oops...

I use Best when appropriate. Sometimes I'll use Thanks. Sometimes I won't use anything.

I have always found that people who use "warmly" are anything but. When I see that, it puts me on immediate alert and I find I'm usually right.

[quote] The use of “clap back” or “we need to talk about...” in news or story headlines

Both are terrible, but I especially hate "clap back." I automatically discount anyone who uses it.

Why is it that whenever you go to a web site, you ALWAYS have to scroll down to get to the portion you need? It is NEVER right there. And you can't arrow down to the part you want, you have to lift your hand from the keyboard and used the damn scroll bar! SO annoying!

'I was this many days when I learned'

[quote] People wearing pajama pants out in public

Normally I'd agree with you but just this past weekend I passed a tousled-haired twentysomething walking down Broadway in a pair of flannel pajama pants with his gigantic dick flopping back and forth. At first I thought it was his phone, but, of course, he was holding his phone, staring down at it as he walked down the street, which allowed me to gape at the flopping kielbasa unobserved. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

[quote] The guys who have to use the urinal or bathroom stall right next to you when there are up to 10 available.

I’ll make an exception if they’re hotties.

[quote] Restaurant servers who ask if you're still working on your meal, as if it's a project.

For some of us it is.

[quote]Restaurant servers who ask if you're still working on your meal, as if it's a project. And when they bring the leftovers container to the table and leave it for you to fill instead of taking care of it themselves.

1/2 a WW. I hate "working on" it, too. But I'd much rather box my leftovers myself.

I DON'T like when people say NO WORRIES which has seemed to replace NO PROBLEM.

R182, if you place the fork face down during the meal, the server would know you're still working, Of course, we don't know if the server knows that rule of table etiquette.

The fork never leaves my hand long enough to be put down.

Ok this is definitely meaningless but highly annoying. I've noticed in the last 10 years or so, (I can't remember when it all started getting out of control) but people whether in entertainment or just plain folk, saying "I love you." "I love you" can be used when you just received a genuinely nice compliment "Oh, gee thanks, I love you too!!" or "I love you" is just routinely said back in response to another mindlessly generated "I love you" from friend, neighbour, colleague, strangers (!) even.

On TV, Ellen is the worst offender. Things like...."Yeah I saw your show, and I loved the show, I loved your the emotions you poured out, I loved your presence, I loved the script, and.....I LOVE YOU!!!" Guest typically responds feigning complete surprise, fake glee with "Oh Ellen! I love you too!! I really do!!" This is done every day. Every single day. All the shows do it. Even Simon Cowell now that's been in the Status for a few years is part of that pack "I didn't like your performance. I loved it!" "Oh Simon, thank you!, I love you so much!" Cowell" I love you too."

Oh I love you all!!

I love you, r187.

...been in the States, meant to say.

Oh Fuck Off, r188. ...I didn't mean it...sorry. I love you, I really do. sorry about that. Love you.

As an older gay and graduate of the school of hard knocks, I am annoying by young people who think life is so simple and that they have the road to success and happiness already mapped out with a firm timetable.

Kiddies, it isn't that easy or everyone would have done it.

Who knew "found purchase" was objectionable

I hate when news reports redundantly mention that “So and so died tragically...”. Well, duh.

Why not “amusingly,” “deservedly” or “adorably”?

192 responses in one day.

Safe to assume Dataloungers live annoyed lives.

People who "call" bullshit. Just say "bullshit." Who cares what you "call"?

[quote]I DON'T like when people say NO WORRIES which has seemed to replace NO PROBLEM.

Is that an Australian import? Seems like it is when you tack "mate" on the end.

Married men looking to hook up with discrete guys.

People who say "So and so called my phone." What else would they call?

Remember when "Absolutely!" was a big thing around 2007? Ugh.

The people who feel compelled to post who is following specific celebrities on social media sites (Madden and Timmy stans lead the insanity). Don't they have anything to do that matters?

Waitstaff who clear the plates away one by one as each person finishes, rather than waiting for everyone to finish and then clearing the entire table. Last person to finish ends up sitting eating alone and getting stared at by everyone else.

Tell me about it.

[quote] Both are terrible, but I especially hate "clap back."

Clap back is now used in yahoo "news" articles headlines and articles all the time. So fucking annoying.

[quote]I am a white boomer man, [R115], and I have never heard "no joy" before. Not even once.

Me either

By the way, there is nothing new about signing correspondence with "best". I remember letters closing this way before email even existed.

R194 will never, ever call shenanigans.

California upspeak.

Like? My Uber was super late? Like, it made me late for happy hour??

It has crept into business too, where my otherwise very intelligent colleagues sound like fucking debutantes.

R192 Reporters who say the fire "totally engulfed" the house. Engulfed means totally. And "five different countries." Same meaning without "different."

When people say “hundred percent” to indicate they agree with what the other is saying.

"You're golden," said to indicate to you that you're holding the other end of the couch in the right spot, or you have the painting at just the right height on the wall, or you're standing in the right spot where a tree sould be planted, or anything where you're in the correct location. "You're golden."

What is a "found purchase?"

Because no one will fucking Google it:

[quote] [bold] purchase [/bold]: a hold or position on something for applying power advantageously, or the advantage gained by such application. "the horse's hooves fought for purchase on the slippery pavement"

A lot of this stuff doesn't annoy me but something that does, for some reason - "Real quick". When did it become a thing? "Can I just squeeze in here real quick?" "I just want to ask something real quick". I hear it constantly.

I've been hearing "real quick" as long as I've been alive, r211. Might it be a North Jerseyism?

Also - awesome used to be something I thought only I or only kids I was skateboarding or surfing with ever said. Then it became taken over by moms. Now every middle aged woman seems to say everything is awesome.

R212 I've been hearing "real quick" as long as I've been alive, [R211]. Might it be a North Jerseyism?

Maybe, I don't know. I'm from Mass but my grandmother was from Fort Lee NJ, and my best friend is from Leonia, but I never heard them say it. That I can remember. lol

Chuck Todd just said 'pump the brakes', which reminded me how much I hate that phrase.

We had a VP who we dubbed Miss Buzzword. Some of her favorites:

"Let's take this offline",

"I'll ping Gertrude and see what she thinks"

"Forward Plan" (who the fuck plans backwards?)

"I'm not sure if we have the bandwidth to handle that right now"

Referring to someone who did little more than wipe their own ass a 'Rockstar', "Jane, you remembered I take two sugars in my coffee, You're a rockstar'.

And the most nonsensical "Failure is not an option" (not only was an option, it's what actually happened. The day the company announced it was closing, I poked my head into Miss Buzzward's office and said 'Well Susan, I guess failure WAS an option after all.' She was not amused.)

R213 I agree - even the most mildly decent things are called "awesome." How are your chips? Awesome! How was the margarita? Awesome. This weather is awesome. Your haircut is awesome. That shirt is awesome.

Are these things really AWESOME? If those tiny things are awesome, what do we call truly big, awesome things now? OMG SUPER DUPER AWESOME!?

If you've ever watched My Dinner with Andre, you'll see the perfect waiter. An older man, he unobtrusively does his job while the two diners talk to each other and never tries to insert his personality onto them.

I love the scene at the end where the waiter makes eye contact for a brief, embarrassed moment with the narrator (forget his name) r217

The "consent to our cookies or GTFO" messages that pop up on every site now. No, I don't consent!! I just want to read the article without being stalked.

The intrusive video pop-ups with the sound on. Especially if you can't turn them off, or have to frantically scroll up and down the page to find where they've been hidden.

Advertisers are a dirty bunch.

R216, We Americans tend to be short on adjectives even though we love using them. Every other thing or person is "awesome", even if it's not.

R218, that would be Wallace Shawn, who also wrote the film and a number of wonderful plays.

[quote] Advertisers are a dirty bunch.

Not to mention that phones eavesdrop on you and then send you ads based on your conversations.

It's happened too often to be a coincidence, and I've noticed that, during the pandemic when I'm rarely out and about and not talking to anyone about buying anything, the phenomenon has all but stopped

"Another senseless murder..."

As opposed to what, a sensible one?

The word "very" has no objective meaning.

"He gifted me a..."

It's "He gave me a..."

More and more people are responding to a reflexive, polite "I'm sorry" or "Oops" for minor things like dropping a pen they handed me with "You're fine!" Instead of something like "That's okay."

I suppose the intent is to excuse the mishap as no big deal, but instead it sounds like they are reassuring me that I am in fact okay as a person. It's indirectly insulting.

r224 I had a professor who handed out a list of "pet peeves" at the beginning of the semester. These included the words very, really, something, thing ... and starting sentences with "There is/There are", as in "There are people who believe ..."

I can't stand "problematic". Was that even a real work until a few years ago? I also can't stand the over use of the word "narrative" as in "I want to control the narrative".

R226 I also feel slightly offended when people say "you're fine" in response to me saying something like "excuse me" if I'm trying to pass them. Yes, I know I'm fine you asshole.

*...Was that a real WORD

[quote] I can't stand "problematic".

Few things irritate me more.

(I left out ‘very’ in deference to r227’s professor.)

Gay men who use cutesy names for their husband.

When I hear (or read) 'hubs' or 'husbear' I want to scream.

If you're old enough to get married, you're old enough to refer to him in public as 'my husband'

R231 Totally agreed. The one idiot I know who uses "husbear" also goes around say 'OMG AWESOMMMMME' about everything. He sounds like an idiot.

I don't like it when my siblings call me "bro". We are all very close and speak with each other several times a week...I just dislike that terminology. Another is the word "peeps". Many of the staff that reported to me would often call their colleagues, "the peeps". What are they chickens or Easter candy?

[quote]Restaurant servers who ask if you're still working on your meal, as if it's a project.

A server at the Applebee's in Cheyenne, Wyoming, was extremely chipper and ready to please. We ordered several menu items, and after each one, he said, "I can make that work for you!" Every single time. To this day, I still use that phrase around my family.

*****

Instead of signing off "Best" in correspondence, I just use "Regards," and then sign my name.

*****

I can't stand it when TV weather people say "forecasted" instead of "forecast."

*****

"Orientate." No, no, NO!!! It's "orient," as in "a compass will help orient you.

*****

Which should it be: "so fun" or "such fun?" My view is that it should be either "such fun" or "so MUCH fun." I hear people say "it was so fun" and cringe a little each time.

*****

For those of you who are irritated by people who use the same hackneyed word or phrase over and over again, here's how I dealt with it once: A young lady named Janet was on the outer fringes of a group I hung around with. No one ever told her that the hippie movement had pretty much dried up some 20 years previously. She dressed as a flower child and used stilted-sounding 1970s vernacular, like "groovy," "far out," and the one that really triggered me, "mellow," which she used to describe way too many things and situations. So I decided to play the game too. I started using "mellow" for everything, albeit incorrectly—"god, look at that Nissan; that is so mellow." "Did you see '60 Minutes' last night? It was pretty mellow." "This Big Mac is sure mellow." "Yeah, 'Schindler's List' was majorly mellow." After not all that long, Janet finally retired her favorite word.

R211, I began hearing "real quick" on the ID Channel, when a cop wants to get information from a suspect and doesn't want to take too much time.

Weather people who say the snow will cover Bergen and Hudson County,. It's counties !!!

[quote] "Orientate." No, no, NO!!! It's "orient," as in "a compass will help orient you.

[quote]Which should it be: "so fun" or "such fun?" My view is that it should be either "such fun" or "so MUCH fun." I hear people say "it was so fun" and cringe a little each time.

I want to marry you, RexOfSB.

"Let's review this and I'll circle back to you."

Pronouns in signatures. It proves to me you shouldn't be taken seriously. Ever.

R174 I made that mistake and left the ‘by’ out. You made me laugh and I ww’d you.

r238 I could write a tome on pronouns in academia.

I recently received an email from a colleague that, and I kid you not, was signed off like this:

John Smith he/she/they

People who refer to themselves in a definitive pronoun. La Senertice, El Senetrice, The Donald. It speaks to extreme narcissistic tendencies. Like nicknames those should always be assigned to you by someone else. Naming yourself the King of Pop also falls into that category.

While we're on names ... people who insist on spelling their names in lowercase letters in all contexts

[quote]People who refer to themselves in a definitive pronoun.

Have the millennials renovated "definite pronoun"?

Something that annoys me a lot is...

"I've asked you to not do that." "I can't stand her boyfriend. I told her to not go out with him again." "He makes me want to not vote for him."

Is this splitting an infinitive? I've never been good at grammar. Anyhow I just know "Not to go" sounds better - for example. I see it a lot more than I used to - on social media, I guess.

I don't know whether it's actually incorrect, but when adults say they did something 'on accident' instead of 'by accident' I think it sounds like their vocabulary hasn't matured since they were six.

[quote] As opposed to what, a sensible one?

If you killed me, it would be sensible.

Not sure if it's meaningless but people who make noise and/or don't turn off their phones in cinemas, concert halls, etc. I'm a pretty mellow person but this makes me murderous.

Background noise of any kind, especially at night. Also noisy chewing and lip smacking. I have misophonia and this makes me suffer.

My friend and me are a few of the last holdouts- I can't stand when people say- How's your MOM and DAD instead of the PROPER- How's your mother and father?

Or maybe - how ARE your parents?

Girls! Girls! You're ALL pedantic!

Talking on the cell phone or watching videos without headphones in public places is trashy and completely devoid of manners.

Unless you’re hot and watching porn.

People who say they care and fail to match words with behavior.

Oh GOD how I hate the fucking pronoun bullshit.

[quote]I want to marry you, RexOfSB.

Aww, thanks r237. Unfortunately, my two ill-behaved Siberian Huskies go with the package, though, and I wouldn't wish those beasts on anyone. But if you're up to a little foolin' around, I'm your man.

One other thing that irks me is when someone says their phone or other electronic device "ran out of batteries." No it fucking didn't! The batteries ran down. Last year the spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff;s Office actually said that in a TV interview.

Life is so complicated for those of us who think.

People who shit and won’t flush. I do not understand this behavior!

People who say "stand on line".

Fucked up.

This thread really devolved into the Grammar Police Hoedown.

R115 the only time I’ve heard no joy in real life was when I was in the Air Force and we were doing some training. It was also said in Top Gun. It was a military term, so I can see how/ why boomer men have taken it and started using it to mean ‘negative’.

I find "such and such is no joke" meaning something is really good to be mind numbingly annoying.

I'm annoyed by people who eat on public transportation. Not just a bagel or coffee but real food. I'm not talking about long distance trains or even buses, but local city buses and subways. I got on a subway the other day and some asshole was having what looked like nachos for lunch. Obviously no mask, and the whole subway car smelled like nachos.

I get it, you're busy, and these days, many places are take-out only, but find a bench, and have your lunch like a person. Your digestion, and fellow passengers, will appreciate it

TV news. One newscaster handing off a story to the other newscaster:

[quote] "Yeah, Chad, there was a five-car chain reaction on I-17 this morning."

Beginning a sentence with "Yeah," is my point.

[quote]This thread really devolved into the Grammar Police Hoedown.

It's curious how so many, even the guy who said repeatedly that his pet peeve really WAS meaningless, call anyone who uses a colloquialism that they hate a "tard" or an "idiot" or a "moron."

If that's how angry they get over some meaningless verbal quirk, what happens when something that actually matters irritates them?

When the cashier hands me my receipt and change together at once. And, worse still, doesn’t “face” the bills; i.e., facing them all the same way.

I had a friend who had to take a few keys off her key chain to use. When the second friend came back she asked it she could put them back on the key chain.

Then she got condescending and re-did the process, claiming friend 2 had put the keys on the key chain "the wrong way." She wanted all the jagged edges of the keys facing the same direction.

It made me think that meaningless things annoy you if meaningless things matter to you.

People who leave their shopping carts in spaces in the car park so that no one else can use the space because they're too lazy to return them to the cart carrel before leaving.

People who noisily unwrap lozenges or other candies in a theatre, never mind those who talk constantly during films and theatre.

[quote]She wanted all the jagged edges of the keys facing the same direction.

Isn't that how everyone does it?

People who come to your home and start criticizing the way you do things. "Oh, this is not how you fold towels"; "You clean your oven wrong", etc. Bitch, either do it yourself, or STFU!

Same with (hierarchically equal) coworkers who love to pick on everyone and brag how much better they do the same things.

[quote] Isn't that how everyone does it?

I can honestly say I have never once noticed how my keys are arranged on my key ring.

But one thing that annoys me is that my partner doesn't align the shades in the living room. We have three shades, covering the three windows. He'll raise the shades, but leave them at different levels. Drives me nuts. I'm forever adjusting them so they're all at the same height.

I find it odd that this bothers me, as I am in no other way OCD. Other things in the apartment are neat, but by no means meticulous. But the shades being at different levels drives me to distraction

Any Yelp reviewer that states the food was "Yummy" or an adult that refers to their parents as mommy and daddy.

I have only one such visual OCDism, too, r270. I can't stand for drawers to be left open. Cabinet doors I couldn't care less about, but open drawers disturb the living fuck out of me.

R49 - haha. And yet conversely, some English-speaking person decided long ago that the likes of Roma, Milano, Venezia, Firenze, etc. were just too damn hard to wrap one's tongue around...

R273 It bothers me when people act as though only Anglos translate the names of foreign cities. It shows how little one knows about foreign languages, it’s not like Italians say London (Londra), Paris (Parigi), München (Monaco di Bavaria), Stockholm (Stoccolma), etc.

R274 - agreed. Sadly, I only speak 4. However, I do appreciate that Italians gave those cities a taste of their own treatment; from now on, I'm going with 'Londra' and 'Parigi'.

Mi piacciono i nomi italiani per tutte quelle città, r274 r275.

[quote] Buzz words and phrases like “wheelhouse”

Surprise them & replace wheelbarrow” with “bailiwick.”

“Not my bailiwick, mate.”

Men over forty who wear jeans.

I'm 60 and I wear jeans when it's cold. What am I supposed to be wearing? Slacks? A caftan?

My pet peeve is "forums." The plural is "fora."

The Americanized word burglarized, as in, "The delinquent youths burglarized the bakery and made off with $300". The word is burgled, Americans.

R273, which English borrowed from the French (Rome, Milan, Venise, Florence, Italie).

[quote] Your Phone Is Listening and it's Not Paranoia

Many years ago I said something to my husband about how I’d been talking to my mother about something & I got a bunch of those ads disguised as “news” about the same subject on my phone & he said, “ I think the phone is listening to you. I’m sure I heard somewhere that they can hear you.” And I was all “Yeah right, Professor. My phone is listening to me (eye roll) .” Now we all know for sure our phones are listening. My son & nusband insist on having apple Home. I won’t heave it upstairs in my living quarters. (They spend most of their time watching sports & reruns of The Office in the living room. I don’t).

Tip - go to the settings on your phone, and for every app, turn off the microphone permission. (Except, of course the phone app itself.) That way Google can't listen to you. I did this and now I don't get ads any more based on what I said casually.

I don’t have “microphone” under my apps. I have “cellular data,” though.

R264, R265, OMG, I'm not alone. In my younger days, when I worked retail, I was always taught to organize the bills in the till with all of them face up, flat, and in the same direction. And to count change back to the customer. So today, whenever some kid hands me back a stack of crumpled bills facing different directions, with coins and receipt on top, it hits a nerve.

Similarly, all my keys on the key ring just have to have the jagged edge facing the same direction.

I also have to have all the blinds in the office raised at same level. If it's something that I can't control, I would avoid looking in that direction.

I hate it when I’ve googled a recipe and have to wade through endless fucking paragraphs about the family history of the recipe, the author’s incredibly stressful life as a stay at home mom and part-time blogger, and whether or not “Hubby and the kiddos” liked the dish. Is it really necessary to include a gazillion photos of the finished product? How about a few pictures of the dish as it’s being prepared? Just get to the point by giving us a list of ingredients and how to cook the damn thing....no one cares about any of the other stuff.

The phrase, “You won the Internet.” or “You’ve won the internet for today.”

It irritates the hell out of me and it’s used so often in reply to something funny/witty.

So dumb.

Where do you here "You won the internet"? That one is new to me. Is it a British thing?

R266, it's a parking lot, not a car park. It's a cart corral, not a cart carrel.

R285, I had a clerk in a Walgreens count my change back to me a couple weeks ago and I made a complimentary comment on how rare that is now.

[quote] I was always taught to organize the bills in the till with all of them face up, flat, and in the same direction. And to count change back to the customer

You can blame technology for this.

Before about 1975 cash registers generally didn't tell the cashier how much change to give. As you said, if the purchase was $16.77 and the customer gave you a $20, we were instructed to put the $20 on the little shelf, manually count back the change as you took it out of the till, then give the money to the customer (who by now had their hand out) in the same manner: 'The total was $16.77 and you gave me twenty. then count the change as you gave it to them.

Only then would you put the $20 in the till and shut the drawer, just in case the customer said 'Hey, I gave you a $50. It was laborious, but improved accuracy.

Today's cashiers couldn't do that if you put a gun to their head. If you really want to fuck with a cashier, and your purchase is, say $32.05, give them $40, wait for them to key it into the POS and then say 'Oh wait, here's a nickel' and watch the utter panic in their eyes.

Also, today cashiers need to deal with so many more customers so a time-consuming ritual like this could cause a riot in the queue.

R288. People don’t say it, they write it. I see it mostly on Facebook if someone writes a funny response to someone else’s post, someone always replies with ‘you just won the internet!’ It’s been going on for years, and I thought it’d be phased out by now, but nope, still around.

R291, I was in retail in the mid-90s, and all the registers read back change. I think we counted back change as assurance that we were handing the customer correct change. I guess this practice is lost to the past.

Recently, I was at a drive-thru and my order came out to $15.32. I gave the guy a $20 and said, "I think I have 32 cents" as I fish out loose change from my armrest storage box. He starts to hand me four 1s and some change, but I say, "here's 32 cents." Perplexed, he responds, "Oh, I already rang it up." I say, "Yes, but here's 32 cents, and you give me back $5." He says, "No, I already rang it up." I guess it was my fault for not having the exact change ready, but still the guy couldn't do simple arithmetic in his head and had to rely on what his register said.

R293, in the same vein, I hate when on Twitter someone replies to a Tweet with "That earned you a follow". Oh gee thanks, I am so honored.

Is r248 for real?

Some of you don't know your Raising Arizona well enough.

[quote] her womb was a rocky place where my seed could find no purchase

Time-consuming ritual? It's 10 seconds, max.

[quote] Surprise them & replace wheelbarrow” with “bailiwick.”

“Hey, I gotta move these bricks. Wanna give me a hand?”

“Sure. Let me just get the bailiwick.”

Doesn’t have the same ring to it.

[quote] Men over forty who wear jeans.

Dafuq?

R294, similar story:

I was at the supermarket and my order came to $14.65. Gave the clerk $25. She tried to hand me back the $5 bill. I said I gave you $25 so I’d get a 10 back.

Perplexed.

[quote] but still the guy couldn't do simple arithmetic in his head and had to rely on what his register said

Actually, cashiers are trained to do this because of the number of short-change operators out there. That guy who says he will give you 32 cents then hands back the five and says, "Oh, have can you take this five and the five you owe me and give me a ten?" all the while the poor guy has a clock on his wall counting down the 4 minutes he has to turn over a customer at his window.

Beautiful people, that have equally beautiful boyfriends, money, and homes telling me about their anxiety. I saw this video by Sam Cushing show up on my Youtube suggestions. He's a nice guy but I really don't need to hear about his "issues" when everything else in the world appears to be going his way. It's not even so much about jealousy because I know I will never look that attractive, but it's like scrolling through Instagram, why put yourself through the heartache. So yeah, vids from guys that look like that are super annoying.

We all had coming out issues. Guys like Sam are welcomed into the gay community with open arms. I get side-eyes.

My post reminded me:

People who put the $ symbol AFTER the denomination so it looks like this:

“I spent 5$ on that coffee!”

It really is.

I had an eccentric (pretentious) boss, who was born and raised in the US, but he would write his figures in the European way: $ 1.234.567,89; $ 100.000,00 . So when I'd look at his proposals and spreadsheets, his numbers would throw me off. Even on shared documents, where everybody would write their numbers in the US conventional way, he'd add in his figures in European format. This would annoy me, so I'd go in and change them so everything would be uniform. When I asked him why he followed the European convention, he gave some stupid answer like, "Well, my wife's Spanish and my grandfather was Swedish." What does that have to do with anything??? I'm so glad I don't work with that pretentious prick anymore.

When people use social media as Google. "What time does X close?" It's one thing if you're looking for opinions or feedback, but facts?

Someone started a thread the other day asking if a couple was still together. They are all over each others instagram. Be less lazy, people.

[quote]Where do you here "You won the internet"? That one is new to me. Is it a British thing?

Several years ago there was a TV show on Comedy Central called [italic]@Midnight With Chris Hardwick.[/italic] It was a mildly amusing celebrity talk show. At the end, Chris would ask the celebrities a few questions, and whoever got the most right "won the Internet." This little catchphrase caught on and people are still using it.

R279 - One of mine is "referenda" - the plural is actually referendums.

Agenda is plural.

Misspellings of my name in replies to emails, never mind that both my email address and signature include my (correctly-spelled) name. Lazy, careless, and indifferent.

People who refer to women as “females”. It’s so damn trashy.

Farting while I’m eating your ass

When people pronounce the "t" in "often"

I love when people pronounce the T in often!!

I hate when people say "drizzle" when describing food.

Both pronunciations of "often" are acceptable.

Not using a capital first letter for my name.

I'm worth the capitalisation people!

PhDs who get pissed when random people who they have only occasionally met forget to refer to them as "doctor". We get it, you want to feel special.

R309 - Yes, agenda is plural. But the plural of referendum IS referendums.

These phrases -- which I keep seeing more and more -- annoy the shit out of me:

"I'm here for that."

"I'm not here for that."

People who use the adjective good in place of the adverb well.

Those who work for Greenpeace and Doctors Without Borders are "doing good". You are doing well.

[quote]I hate it when I’ve googled a recipe and have to wade through endless fucking paragraphs about the family history of the recipe

This is a running joke for me and my husband. We look up recipes online. You have to read through their entire life story just to get to the actual recipe. I think it's designed to sell more ads. I don't care about your life story in relation to this dish, bitch. Just give me the recipe.

"This thread is full of win!"

Thankfully, that phrase seems to have died out.

[quote] Not using a capital first letter for my name.

Oh get over it

We tend to speak in idioms or popular phrasings in normal conversations 99% of the time it seems: I'm as guilty as the next party:

Sign me up!

Get out of town!

What's up with that?

Been there, done that

Give me a break

You're so full of it

Seemed like a good idea at the time

Just the facts, ma'am

Livin' the Dream!

I wouldn't kick him out bed for eating crackers

Weigts 180 pounds soaking wet

Beam me up!

Catch some Zzzzzss

^^^^ Weighs .....

R62

accede

The way English speakers pronounce Latin.

Any misspellings or typos in things that are supposedly edited and proofed like books, magazine articles, etc.

Special irritation arrives when it’s on the chyron on the news and stays for a while. Didn’t the producer, director, or even an intern see that (or see it now) and correct it?!

Doctors Without Borders are doing good, as in doing good things for others.

When you're on the uptown 3 train from 110th St on, when they announce over and over and over—and over—that the 3 doesn't go to the Bronx, and if that's you, you must transfer at 135th St. to the 2 train. It's the repetition that annoys me.

Ditto with the 1 train and the first five cars are the only ones that will open at South Ferry

Not meaningless, r331.

When people smell their fingers when exiting the restroom.

[quote] Ditto with the 1 train and the first five cars are the only ones that will open at South Ferry

You can relax. The new/old South Ferry station has reopened and now you can ride in any car.

Re: repetitive announcements. I used to take the L all the way out to E105 for work. Frequently there would be delays so in order to speed things up, trains would sometimes skip stations, going express from Broadway Junction to E105. At Broadway Junction, the conductor would say over and over again "This train is going express to East 105. If you need stations between here and East 105 get off and wait for the train directly behind us'. Over and over again. I'd think 'Shut up and go already'.

Invariably, people would look up from their phones as we whizzed by their station, completely bewildered as to why we weren't stopping. One time, as I was exiting at E105 some old hag was screaming at the conductor, berating him for not announcing that the train would be skipping stops. He said 'I did say we were going express', at which point I interjected 'Yes, he did tell us', The old bag turned and snarled at me 'Who asked YOU?'

"Misspellings of my name in replies to emails, never mind that both my email address and signature include my (correctly-spelled) name. Lazy, careless, and indifferent."

Really? Let me guess, you're one of those obnoxious people that everyone hates who insist on the current spelling of a very common name: "My name is Kayla! Spelled C-H-E-I-L-A-H! Kayla!! Are you stupid or something?!"

No. People are just really fucking tired of name Nazis like you, and if I knew what your name is, I would sign it the correct spelling. Not whatever your parents decided to curse you with.

“Have a great REST OF your day!”

You can’t just say “have a great day!”?!?

Have a good one, r336.

The correct reply to "have a good one" is, "I do—I just wish it were bigger."

Yes, I use that George Carlin line all the time:

“I already have a good one! I’m looking for a longer one!”

R337 "Have a good one" doesn't bother me at all compared to "have a good rest of your day." The latter is just so CLUNKY.

Today, I’ve chosen to be offended by lazy pop lyricists who mangle grammar for the sake of an easy rhyme.

(Biggest offender: Paula Cole. “And say a little prayer for I.” What? I as in the chemical symbol for iodine? Just no.)

And how did this couplet from Donna Summer’s “This Time I Know It’s For Real” slip by the Grammar Police? “Do I stand in line / One of a million admiring eyes”? WHAT?!? Miss Donna Summer was not a Cyclops!

Carry on.

[R22], how does it feel to hate me?

When people type "the house looks fun" instead of "the house looks like fun."

This affects people who don't have their own washer/dryer, so I guess that's New Yorkers and people who live in trailer parks.

It drives me crazy when my neighbors (communal laundry room) don't clean the lint filter after they're done drying their clothes. I always clean the filter before I remove my clothes from the dryer, but because I live in a building with lazy assholes, I have to clean it before I put my clothes in as well. Not only is is thoughtless, it can cause a fire.

It's not like I live in some tenement under the elevated train either, the apartment next door just sold for 900K, which is cheap enough for Manhattan, but still not exactly the low-rent district.

One day they will use this thread to test psychiatry grad students on their diagnostic skills

Using the washing machine in my apartment complex and there’s residual fabric softener in the receptacle.

Fabric softener is useless, smelly, and I don’t want that shit on my clothes. Use a dryer sheet, for fucks sake.

Guys with nice bodies, escorts, Grindr, instagram, who photoshop shadows to make themselves look more defined or draw the muscles in all together, so fucking stupid and vain. All you do is have to pinch and zoom to see their hack job.

I really hate bragging, showing diamond jewelry, private jets, posts with your cars emblem. Again vapid and stupid. I hope something rocks your fucking shallow exhausting existence.

Fake happy hello greetings, mostly customer service. Just be genuine. Say hello mutual eye contact if you feel appropriate.

Dry skin - chapped lips- dirty fingernails on other people - bad hygiene on other people

Wiggers

Colored contact lenses

Blasting your music in your car for others- guess what. Nobody else is feeling your taste.

Proximity things. Especially in COVID. I went off on someone I see all the time I shop. The stuff was in bins and they decided to dig thru the exact same one I was in. They had done it before and let it slide-this time I told them get the fuck off of being on top of me- 6 feet asshole. I felt very bad, but it had to be done. Seen them since, I acted like it never happened and so did they, I wasn’t going to apologize but felt I over reacted. But again their lack of awareness annoyed the shit out of me. I had to say something

People that walk in front of the mirror in front of you at the gym, go behind someone working out in a mirror, same for don’t drop in on the equipment, or change the equipment you clearly see them using.

People that don’t know how to walk and awkwardly walk into people trying to avoid walking them into them

Using a too small leash on a dog. My mom has a rescue German Shepard mix. She walks her with a 3 foot leash and a choke collar. A seven year old adult 90+ pound dog. She says it’s because someone told her to do it so she won’t pull her down. It makes me so mad. I walk that dog with a 20ft retractable leash. Such a sweet dog. Sometimes stubborn but never pulls me. My mom accuses me of hiding her stupid fucking leash

Chain smokers. . Don’t have anything against smokers. Hate chain smokers. Respect yourself at least a little to somewhat care about being able to breath.

R196 discrete ≠ discreet

You're welcome.

On the change thoughts, this really, really annoys me.

At a drive-thru, I want the cashier to put the coins in my outstretched palm, then the bills and receipt. This happens maybe 1 in 25 times.

Bills and/or receipt first then coins on top means a coin or more slip out as you close your hand.

People who say “like” constantly.

Best.

[quote] “Have a great REST OF your day!”

Ugh, I hate that one, too, and it's become ubiquitous. Unless it's your goal to sound like a moron, say "have a great day" or "enjoy the rest of your day," but not "have a great rest of your day."

Dancing With The Stars

Cracker Barrel

[quote] She says it’s because someone told her to do it so she won’t pull her down.

If you can't carry the dog, you shouldn't be walking the dog. You're just not strong enough.

Calling anything second hand, especially clothing, vintage. People who use substitute swear words, e.g., feck instead of fuck. People who sit in the aisle seat of a crowded bus leaving the window seat vacant.

Public transport needs a thread of its own. Everything about it is annoying as fuck.

"and how is everything tasting???"

R355 - yes I hate the people who deliberately ensure that no one sits next to them on public transport. As if they are too good for someone to sit next them and they think it should be someone else that has someone sit next to them. I single them out and ask to sit next to them, just to irk them.

" ... just to irk them."

I like your style, r357. However, I don't ask, I just indicate physically that I'm going to sit there. I don't waste politeness on rude people.

It irritates me when I'm happily exploring a new city on google maps, plonk the figure down for street view, and end up trapped in a shop. I wish there was some way of turning that off.

R9 & R24 Fuck that "being mad because people aren't sitting next to me on public transportation" bit.

I prefer it. In and out of pandemic. I'm usually listening to a podcast, or reading a book. And I'm definitely never the one that smells. I happen to like people, but where public transportation is concerned: unless it's a busy day, stay away. I VANT TO BE ALONE.

[quote]The guys who have to use the urinal or bathroom stall right next to you when there are up to 10 available.

Never bothered me!

Life.

when somone belches in my presence.

R349, I think the coins are placed first so that you are less likely to drop them.

When they are on top of the bills and reciept they can more easily slide on to the ground.

[quote] Colored contact lenses

Hey!!

That’s contact lenses of color.

I’ve got my eye on you.

R355 This irritates me too, especially amongst grown adults. If you can't say fuck, why say it at all? I cringe everything I hear someone say "frick," "frig" etc. instead of "fuck." Why even BOTHER trying to fake swear if you can't say "fuck"!! Why self-censor?

Alternatively, I used to work in an elementary school and got pretty good at substituting "shit" with words like "shoot!" or "damn" with "darn," which don't bother me at all compared to the fake swears for "fuck"! Although, once I said "shoot" and a kid looked me dead in the eye and said "I knew what word you were GOING to say."

Hipster ‘artisan’ anything.

[quote] Although, once I said "shoot" and a kid looked me dead in the eye and said "I knew what word you were GOING to say."

That’s hysterical.

R366, that kid sounds awesome. And I agree with your points about swearing, which I see mostly in typing, and it's been annoying me for years. "Who the eff? What the f***?" It drives me fucking crazy! If people are going to go through the effort of typing out three stars in the word fuck, why not just type fuck? Aggravating.

But I have been noticing it in speech quite often recently, and I think it's because of a need some people have to be as inoffensive as possible, given the current culture of being offended and telling everyone else what to be offended by. Which I think is why I've been noticing a lot more people saying things like goshdarnit, oh my gosh, holy heck, dadgummit. Very strange.

"given the current culture of being offended and telling everyone else what to be offended by"

All the more reason to say it.

"intellectuals" and "philosophers" who say "I'm cognizant of the fact..." Instead of. "I know that..."

Buh-en - this is connecticut, manhattan speak. Ma ha en = manhattan , can't think of any others at the moment.

People who use "her" and "him" as subject pronouns.

[quote] If people are going to go through the effort of typing out three stars in the word fuck, why not just type fuck? Aggravating.

I think this stems from attempts to circumvent censorship programs that would automatically censor bad words.

When people post recipes on food websites. They get ratings and comments. Which is fine until someone posts something like, "I used margarine instead of butter because DH is watching his cholestrol...it didn't turn out good at all. I won't try again.".

Or when they do and say, "I used cheddar instead of mozzarella. Made it even better.". When you deviate from the recipe, it's not the same. I try to follow a recipe to the letter.

And I wonder why I live alone.

Trump's tiny hands doing a fist pump.

But everyone adapts a recipe after they try it once or twice. No one continues to make it as given.

So for most of us, it is helpful to get some idea of possible variations---because when you deviate it is not the same and a little help is always good.

(My mother was an award-winning baker. One year, one of her pie recipes won first prize in a state-wide competition. My sister is the queen of substitutions in recipes, initially because she was cheap; now, because she's just stupid. To wit, margarine for butter, milk for heavy cream, applesauce for oil, Quaker oats for bread crumbs, bacon for prosciutto, yogurt in place of sour cream, etc., etc. Nothing is ever comme il faut. Mom will not give the pie recipe to my sister because she knows that she will fuck it up and tell people it was her mom's prize-winning recipe. Mom gave it to me only after I swore that I would never give it to my sister.)

I guess we really are talking about meaningless things now.

People who make their entire post parenthetical.

People who use the term award-winning as if it would mean something without specifying what the award is.

The FAQ section on Amazon (for any product). People post legit questions, but then there are these idiots who respond with, “I don’t know” or “I have no idea” — as if they were being personally asked a question and as if their idiotic answer was somehow useful.

TOTALLY agree! And 378, please post your mom's recipe. We won't tell sis!

R382,

I used to laugh at this, too. It used to piss me off until I found out why.

When you purchase something, Amazon occasionally sends you emails asking you to “help this customer with [the product you purchased].” They’ll tell you the question asked as if it is directed only at you. While anyone with common sense would just ignore it if they didn’t know, I guess they think they’re the only ones Amazon sent the email to.

Also, there’s a button for “I don’t know” in the email, so it’s possible if you hit that button your comment shows up that way, but I’m not certain.

That's another one - emails that beg you for feedback.

"Hi we hope you're enjoying your haemorrhoid cream. Why not leave a review and let others see what you think?"

Blonde women who think my gaze is a signal that I'm interested in them -- when in fact I'm scoping out their boyfriends.

Every word that comes out of Ivanka Trump's.

The blatant misuse of apostrophes. I don't understand how people think that every word that ends with "S" needs an apostrophe in front of it. I am so sick and tired of people typing things like "car's and truck's for sale!" or "Monday's at 9!" or "DVD's this way!" Fucking stop it! I especially hate the misuse of apostrophes regarding a decade.

A decade is not sentient, therefore, no "'+s" required. If people are going to simplify, the apostrophe is supposed to take the place of, say, 19 or 20. Therefore, the 1990s would be shortened to "the '90s," *not* "the 90's." Arrghhh, so aggravating.

R388, the head of our administrative division sends out emails and memos with grocer's apostrophes and I shake my head in bewilderment that the person in charge of the secretaries and admin clerks can't even punctuate properly.

Marry me, R388!

[quote]There are these young women at work that pronounce Button "buh-EN" and Martin "Mut-EN"

Almost annoying as people who /hammer/ the "t"

But (pause) Ton or mit (pause) Tin.

put on your mit-uh-TTTTins.

Jesus fuck that's annoying.

[quote]applesauce for oil

The frauiest substitution on record.

When a cashier hands you bills and then puts the change on top of the bills, in your outstretched hand. Instead of handing you your bills, then handing you the change, when you have put the bills away (handing you your bills and change separately). Because bills go in your wallet, and change goes in your pocket.

You can't balance the change, you have to pick it off the bills, or you have to try to pocket it all. People never used to do this but now they seem to do it all the time.

Pre-pandemic. Starting on Thursday...co-workers asking “Got anything exciting planned for the weekend?” And again on Monday, co-workers asking, “Do anything exciting this weekend?” I know this is just harmless small talk, the questions are meaningless, it’s just one human to another trying to make a connection. It’s well intended, but it drives me bonkers.

R375 This drives me crazy too! I always think the comments section is for people to say how the dish turned out when they used the recipe. But it's always, "I didn't have potatoes, so I used sweet potatoes, and I don't like beef gravy so I substituted chicken gravy, and I had some whale blubber left over so I used it instead of butter. Hubby and the kids loved it, asked for seconds." Like, shut the fuck up, bitch.

R394. omg, that reminds me how I'm actually kind of glad COVID killed that question lol. For now.

Drag and drag queens. More power to them but when I see a guy in drag, it kills any attraction I have for them.

R397 yes not hot and a boner killer. I live in a small Midwestern city where the local gay nightlife is dominated by drag culture. It is so exhausting!

R398, agreed! It's a huge boner killer.

This is supposed to be about "meaningless things" that annoy you.

Everyone bitching about how their change is handed back might need to get with it and use some sort of Tap Pay. At least use a Card. Cash is filthy and should be eliminated. It's 2021.

At my age, I have to pay to tap.

Thank god for escorts.

R401 Oh right, it's not the fault of the people who can't give back change. It's the fault of the people paying with money. Stfu, okay? If a store is going to accept money then they should know how to make change. It's someone's right to use money to pay for things, as long as the government is printing it.

I still use cash for purchases under $20. I prefer Japan's currency. All the bills (banknotes) are different sizes. The 10,000 yen (~ $100 bill) bill is the largest in size. The coins go up to 500 yen (~ $5). The money there also doesn't get as dirty and crumpled like in the U.S.

My apologies if this was already mentioned, but the word "pivot." Ever since the pandemic began, everyone has been pivoting their businesses, approaches and plans. I wish the would all pivot off the face of the earth. Fuck them and their business jargon.

My history instructor at college had this habit of putting the accent on the first syllable (?) of any word that started with "con". Conflict became "CONflict", consideration became CONsideration. When he talked about the Articles of CONfederation, we'd all do the collective roll-eye. I don't know what his problem was. At our holiday party, one of the older women students was tempted to ask him after two glasses of spiked punch, but we talked her out of it. I'm sure that he was gay as well.

Non-black people who talk "hood".

[quote] Conflict became "CONflict"

Isn't that how you pronounce conflict (as a noun)? "Conflicted" is con-FLICT-ed, yes.

R407 Is that like "jive"?

"I speak jive"

R405 needs to lead an "organic scrum" about pivoting.

That sounds nasty.

"I got up at 5 AM in the morning."

"My job starts at 10 AM in the morning."

FUCK! What's with this redundant clarification?! I understand you if you say "5 AM." I understand you even more if you say "5 in the morning." Why are you saying __ AM in the morning? I've noticed this more and more this year. I don't get it.

[quote] "I got up at 5 AM in the morning."

I always respond, “Geez. Good thing it wasn’t 5 AM at night!”

That's fair to say R408, but his pronunciation was quite exaggerated.

R393: Today's cashiers are yesteryears' crack babies. Crack babies with jobs.

John F. Kennedy signed off his letters with "Best", at least when he was younger. I guess this was considered "trendy" at Choate and Harvard.

R416 Usually they're just people who should have been trained better for the job. Not really their fault.

My old aunt used to sign cars "Best." It's not a new thing.

She didn't actually sign cars. If only she sent cars instead of cards.

Inane expressions like

“I can’t.”

“Let that sink in.”

“Full stop.”

R421. Wow. Just wow.

[quote] When a cashier hands you bills and then puts the change on top of the bills, in your outstretched hand. Instead of handing you your bills, then handing you the change, when you have put the bills away (handing you your bills and change separately). Because bills go in your wallet, and change goes in your pocket.

They used to put change on the counter and push it towards you. Then you either picked it up coin by coin or swept it into one hand by the other hand. They stopped doing this in NY specifically because black people thought it was offensive. Neighborhoods were very segregated back then & black people went to little bodegas & small markets. I remember moving to the East 90s & being surprised there were no blacks people in my neighborhood shopping or working in stores. Harlem was just s few blocks away. But black people didn’t like to come into our neighborhood because shipowners watched them like hawks, especially Koreans & Chinese.

When more black people finally felt safe enough to come into our neighborhood to shop, chain stores were taking over NY.C — Rite Aid, CVS, Duane Reade — and they felt the cashiers shoving change across the counter was rude & that white people did it because they didn’t want to chance touching a black person’s skin by putting change in their hand. . You should’ve seen the look on cashiers faces when they started getting yelled at for doing what they’d been doing for years. It had been SOP for decades to count change, slap it on the counter & shove it towards the customer.

This became a thing. It was even in newspapers.

So chain stores started a standard store policy to hand a customer bills and put the change on top of the bills, along with the receipt. Credit/debit cards make it so much easier to avoid all that & just rip the receipt out yourself

[quote] Why are you obsessed with China...So weird.

Why are you so complacent about it? So dangerous.

R423 Putting change on the counter sounds more annoying than coins on top of bills.

In Japan, the procedure for giving change back to the customer is almost an art form.

[quote] I'm tired of 'may her memory be a blessing'.

This is a very time-honored Jewish expression and it contains a lot more genuine positive sentiment than "I'm sorry for your loss", which sounds so rote.

[quote] The guys who have to use the urinal or bathroom stall right next to you when there are up to 10 available.

Well, just check out what they've got, too.

R302 Can't it be seen as comforting to those less visibly fortunate? So as to say, "My life may appear to be perfect, but it is not".

Envy is soul-destroying and not attractive.

[quote] People who refer to women as “females”. It’s so damn trashy.

See, it is an effective put-down.

R423 That's very interesting! I didn't know that. Maybe that was a thing in New York. What I'm talking about is the fact that in a small store or a supermarket (where I'm from - New England) you used to

Anyhow, now, a cash register indicates the exact change, and the cashier will sometimes just hand it to you bills first, then coins on top. It's very awkward. What are you supposed to do? Crush it into a ball and put it in your pocket? It's very easy to drop it.

*you used to get the change first, in your hand, then the bills. The reason for this might have been that with old cash registers, the cashier only rang up a total, and had to make change in their head. So they'd naturally give you the coins first, as they counted them, and they'd get them out of their hand. Then they could count out the bills. Last, they gave you the receipt.

[quote] People who use the adjective good in place of the adverb well.

Insistence on using "well" sounds elitist and pretentious.

[quote] I live in a small Midwestern city where the local gay nightlife is dominated by drag culture.

Unbelievably, drag is still a presence in DC gay nightlife. How uncharmingly retro.

[quote] Cash is filthy and should be eliminated.

Fuck you. I don't want to use a "card" or that little plastic box with circuits for every purchase I make.

R360 Then pay for 2 seats. That's why it's called "public" transportation.

[quote] Cash is filthy and should be eliminated.

Why is something that literally everyone before you has to touch any cleaner than cash?

When every celebrity's death is depicted as a shocking tragedy. Yes, I am completely shocked that Amy Winehouse, a notorious drug addict, died early. I never would have guessed!

Warm toilet seats at work. For me it means that someone has just sat on it and I'm getting their cooties. I touch it and if it's warm, I'll lift the seat and sit on the cold porcelain.

Ewww.

Can’t you just use another toilet?

[quotes] [R423] Putting change on the counter sounds more annoying than coins on top of bills

Yup, that’s the way they used to do it. Count out change from register, put it in the palm of their hand, then slap their hand with the change in it onto the counter & shove it toward you. There was kind of an art to it. People would try to do it all in one fast movement with one hand. I can still hear the way change sounded when it hit the counter - the sound of pennies, nickels and dimes were different from each other. Without looking, you could tell if you were only getting a few pennies & no other coins because of the sound pennies made.

[quotes] [R423] Putting change on the counter sounds more annoying than coins on top of bills

Yup, that’s the way they used to do it. Count out change from register, put it in the palm of their hand, then slap their hand with the change in it onto the counter & shove it toward you. There was kind of an art to it. People would try to do it all in one fast movement with one hand. I can still hear the way change sounded when it hit the counter - the sound of pennies, nickels and dimes were different from each other. Without looking, you could tell if you were only getting a few pennies & no other coins because of the sound pennies made.

I think putting the coins on the counter started with AIDS. Cashiers didn’t want to touch customers hands. So funny — AIDS made people PANIC about even touching someone. I worked in hospitals before AIDS and food was served on plates & real cups & metal cutlery were use. A metal cover was put over the food. Bedpans, urinals, emesis basins & washbasins were all made out of metal & were disinfected & reused. A lot of jobs were lost when AIDS came along because everyone switched over to disposable everything. We used to have lots of people in dietary who pushed food iff plates & made sure cups & cutlery were saved, rinsed & washed (by hand in our little community hospital - no lie. My cousin used to do that in HS). Then there was the disinfecting areas where metal bedside supplies were put & rinsed, called the dirty utility room, and people from housekeeping picked it up and took it to be disinfected. Then they’d wrap and return it.

When AIDS came around, all of that stopped because people were terrified they’d catch it. Healthcare costs went up billion$ after hospital supplies became 100% disposable.

And we can’t get the same people to wear a fucking paper mask nowadays. Idiots.

R440, sometimes. But where I work, a military base, the squids are always goofing off and slacking by hogging up the stalls to text their loved ones on their phones. The stalls are seldom empty. I'm a civilian employee, a GS-8, so I have to use the enlisted restrooms. The officers' restrooms are nicer, but off limits, except on the weekends. It's an unwritten rule. But officers can leave warm, grody toilet seats too.

[quote] Warm toilet seats at work

You'd have a problem in Japan. They have those fancy toilet seats that warm up. I had a friend who went to Tokyo for a year on business and when I asked him about what things gave him culture shock, one of them was that. Because he lived alone, sitting down on a warm toilet seat freaked him out. I guess his butt was anticipating a cool one.

When people write "trooper" for someone in show business who works hard and so forth. "She was a real trooper." It's supposed to be trouper. Referring I guess to a theatrical troupe.

Also when people write about someone playing a "roll" in a show when it's a role.

When a couples take a first sip of their Champaign and do that arm lock things. It's so corny, unnecessary, and unnatural. I want to gag when I see that at a wedding or on TV during "romantic" moments.

R447 and the wedding cake smearing too. All frau and hetero traditions in general and cringey.

When parents can't handle people criticizing their child. Listen, your child isn't special and they aren't even cute..

R447 When people misspell "champagne", even when it isn't.

Even when it isn't what?

People who sit around in socks, in real life or in television and movies, and then continuously wiggle their nasty toes. Relatedly, when you can see the dirty foot outline on the bottom of someone's socks. Either clean your damn floor or buy dark socks.

The way so many people refer to musicians albums as being an "era". The six months Madonna dressed as a 1930s bombshell in 1990 is not an "era".

R453, agreed, this is a recent thing. I don't remember anyone ever using the term era like that until like 5 years ago.

Janbot. Meaningless AND annoying.

I'll go back to OP's "email protocol" annoyance. I hate it--especially in the context of work--that someone merely forwards an email from someone else with the word "thoughts?"

I always want to write back: "Here's a thought. Analyze the original sender's email, develop a cogent recommendation, and send it to me with a clear statement about what you are looking for from me. Approval? Concerns?"

"Thoughts?" (without more) always makes me feel like the sender is just dumping this crap on me.

All the discussion on DL on how "hot" Chris Evans is. I just don't see it.

People who sign off with just their first initial.

"Guidance" instead of actual instructions

r453 with the speed at which the world is movie due to the internet, I don't mind the era stuff. Madonna really reinvented herself every album, so it was an era based on her career. But this is supposed to be about personal opinions.

I don't like albums that lack at least on decent ballad. I'd like to hear some of the artist's range.

When people use the term "dated" to criticize art from the past, well, no shit something that came out 50 years ago is "dated"! Who woulda thunk!

Servers and people in retail who say "No Problem," when you've said "Thank you. There's only one reply "You're Welcome" and don't tell us what it means in Spanish or French, bitches, we're in America,

Someone once told me that "no problem" is another way of saying "fuck you". Is it?

People that have a problem with "no problem".

When English people say "with all due respect". And when southern people say "bless your heart". Fuck you guys too!

The pro and anti Harry and Meghan threads. Both sides are insufferable. In the end, it’s meaningless but I have to keep away from them. I can’t even lurk there.

r466 yes that is the worst and I have to say that I've never seen a woman rile up some parts of DL like Meghan. I'm still loss for words regarding her great crime against the UK. Simply madness.

R456 My boss does this but I know it’s code for “this seems batshit crazy to me, do you agree?” It’s mostly an email from someone in other department that has come up with what they think is a creative way to dump a bunch of extra work on us.

[quote] When people misspell "champagne", even when it isn't.

[quote]Even when it isn't what?

I think he means even when it isn’t champagne. Champagne is a drink that comes from a specific region. Many people refer to sparkling wine, regardless of its origins, as champagne but it’s not.

I automatically stop reading any online post that starts with “Y’all”

I automatically stop reading any online post that starts with “Y’all”

People who say "seen" instead of "saw." I'm noticing more people saying "I seen..." instead of "I saw..." lately. It's concerning, to say the least.

What do you think about guys who have about 20 or 30 extra pounds?

"We need to talk about....". No, we don't need to talk about anything, shove it up your ass.

"Here's the kicker" or "here's the rub."

Why does everything come with a preamble when whatever should speak for itself.

The term "fur babies"

NO.

The very first thread title I read in 2021 had the word "pussy" in it.

[quote]How did Jim Rockford get so much pussy?

R475 the two variations on that: “that being said” or “here’s the thing” make me blind with rage.

I can't stand those little 2" heels that women wear in theater or sometimes in pop shows. JLo, shown below, loves those things. I 100% know that they are trying to straddle sexiness with stability, but I just hate those shoes. There aren't many alternatives beyond a broken ankle so I'll be quiet in public but damn do I have an irrational hatred for those fucking ugly shoes. I don't care how you dress them up, It looks terrible from the side or back. You see them on all the women from Dancing With The Stars, ugh.

In general I hate small heels including kitten heels. Shit or get off the pot, as in ad some hit or put on flats. Rant over.

^In general I hate small heels, including kitten heels. Shit or get off the pot, as in, add some height or put on flats. Rant over.

R479, are you a man?

r481 yes. I know it's not my business since I don't wear heels, but this thread did say meaningless things. Of course I keep these things to myself.

gangs of gay clones.

People who have no clue how apostrophes work in relation to decades. A decade is not a sentient being, therefore, no apostrophe + s is required. If one were to shorten a decade, then the apostrophe would replace the 1 and 9, or the 2 and 0.

Thus, the 1990s *should* become the '90s, *not* the 90's. (As 98% of the world types it.)

[quote] In general I hate small heels including kitten heels. Shit or get off the pot, as in ad some hit or put on flats.

I agree. Kitten heels are pathetic, unless it's a very old woman with stability issues. I would prefer flats to kitten heels. Ugh.

I've been reaching out to a lot of guy friends and associates via social media due to the pandemic. Just chit-chat. I can't stand when I'm having a general conversation with another gay man about something platonic and they slip in the fact that they have a boyfriend. Not in a meaningful way to enhance the conversation, but in an obvious attempt to say, "Don't even think of hitting on me, I'm taken."

Bitch, I'm not about to hit on you. Just because I'm single doesn't mean I'm trying to catch every dick I talk to. We all know when the intent is to shut down flirtation. It's a bit insulting that two adults can't converse without someone trying to assume that this is going to lead to flirting.

Perhaps I'm not explaining this well enough but it happened yesterday and I just thought of this thread.

You know what I really cannot stand (I am sure the Internet community was waiting to see what I, random Internet person really thought):

Women (and men) with long hair that they only part in the centre. I swear, it drives me crazy! (Is there really no other hairstyle for long hair, other than parting it the centre?) I swear, look at any woman on the news and I swear, they all have centre-part hairstyles, and it drives me crazy.)

R487 I've never thought about it before, but how else should they part their hair? I'm intrigued at what the other options are, unless they do a different hairstyle.

I think anything but a center part on a man would be very odd unless he is Metrosexual. I like the center part on women but I think if you go through the trouble of growing out your hair why not play with the style a bit?

Women with smoker's voice.

When law enforcement uses “gentlemen” when referencing perps.

The dog dad/mom bullshit was bad enough, but the cat dad/mom stuff really annoys me. Cats are not loyal to anyone but themselves. Not even a cat's actual biological father gives a shit about the damn thing and would just as easily fight it in the streets. They are not children, stop trying to compensate.

That reminds me, people who get more upset about FICTIONAL animals dying in movies than about, you know, the actual atrocities going on in the world bother me.

Men who cum too quickly.

1) People that use a joke about "needing a glass of wine" or generally treat wine like stress relief. It's so basic. 2) Guys with feet that are not well kempt or just ugly exposing them. 3) Social media

[quote] Women (and men) with long hair that they only part in the centre. I swear, it drives me crazy! (Is there really no other hairstyle for long hair, other than parting it the centre?) I swear, look at any woman on the news and I swear, they all have centre-part hairstyles, and it drives me crazy.)

R487, I part my hair in the middle for a couple of reasons. One, the middle of my head (top part) is where my hair is the thickest. My hair is more sparse and thinning on the sides of my head. If I part my hair on the side, it looks almost like a bald spot.

Second reason, I have a round-ish face and the center part just looks appropriate with that.

Just ran into something annoying: saying "diffuse" instead of "defuse." As in, "Let's defuse this situation."

Vegans that try to spread the word on their dietary decisions as if it's a cult and I need to be converted. Bitch, spend more time making your fake food taste like the real stuff and less time trying to convert me to your diet, excuse me, lifestyle.

PETA - congrats almost everyone agrees that fur is murder. Why would people need to stop wearing their old mink coats? The animals already died, leaving it in a closet means they died in vain. They tried getting on the Queen for wearing her old furs. The animal is already dead, is she supposed to burry it?

Stolen elections! 🤡

[quote]is she supposed to burry it?

Oh, dear!

r497 I swear we were both on the same Cultural Senasativty: Unconscious Bias Workshop, half an hour ago when the word was misused. Cheers from a windy city.

When I hear 'no problem' in response to my 'thank you,' I make eye contact and say sincerely, 'I didn't have a problem' or 'Did I cause a problem?'

R502 is an asshole of misery.

R484 - how interesting! And here I thought I was finally getting it right by writing the '90's!

R496, no disrespect was intended. My only issue with women having centre part is because I've been seeing it nonstop since the Kardashians became popular. And I don't think it's becoming on all the women who have tried it.

Case in point: Sarah Jessica Parker. I thought she looked terrific in Season 5 of Sex and the City with the shorter 'do and parted on the side.

Here's mine: assholes who don't realize that pluralized words do NOT require apostrophes. I swear, having to read some stupid fool's posting about "vaccine's available," in addition to "car's, truck's, church's, black's, etc." Fuck OFF!! These are things we learn in elementary school and yet, we have "car's, truck's, church's." What the everloving fuck?

People who don't respond to a smile. It's not as noticeable now since we're all wearing masks...

People who say, "I feel badly about that."

I wonder if they feel 'goodly' about other things?

[quote] we have "car's, truck's, church's." What the everloving fuck?

This makes me insane too. Especially when it's on a sign. Someone had to 1) design it, 2) create it, 3) approve it, and 4) hang it, and yet nobody noticed it was wrong?

R507 I feel dumb smiling when I wear a mask, sue me, so I've stopped.

r388 / r484 while an apostrophe in a decade is now verboten, it used to be common usage (I want to say pre-1980s, but maybe later). I've seen it in both popular and scholarly writing.

Perhaps the "1950's" crew are simply eldergays.

[quote]Perhaps the "1950's" crew are simply eldergays.

Bullshit. This ancientgay doesn't remember anything but the '80s, the '90s, etc. being the correct contraction.

The next time I find an example in a scholarly text, r512, I will point you to it r512

Here you go, r512. (Didn't take long.)

Not the best image, as Google Books doesn't provide full text. But this is the first thing I could find.

From Edmund Spenser's Poetry: Authoritative Texts, Criticism (Norton, 1968)

A scholarly monograph from 1951 (University of California Press) used the apostrophe IN THE TITLE r512:

And yet, r514, Norton Publishing, which you are quoting, drops the apostrophe on their Wikipedia page.

[quote]W. W. Norton & Company is an American publishing company based in New York City. It has been owned wholly by its employees since the early [bold]1960s[/bold].

I said they used the apostrophe IN THE PAST (specifically, pre-1980s, but I could be wrong).

Do keep up, r516