Really trivial stuff that bugs you

[Trebuchet]

You know, the stuff that has no bearing on anything but bothers you anyway.

One of mine, lately is car wheels with spokes that don't work with the bolts. Five bolts, seven spokes; four bolts, five spokes, etc. I find myself looking at the car next to me (and groaning) at every stoplight.

[Gemini]

People who use double negatives tend to irritate me greatly. For instance, a couple of weeks ago I was messing the reclining mechanism on one of the seats in the boat and I couldn't get it to go back right. My dad finally fixes it and says, "Son, don't never do that again!" Technically, that meant I am supposed to that again.

[KaiYeves]

Being in a city with lovely historic gardens, monuments, and cemeteries, but having weather so hot that standing outside for more than five minutes means risking dehydration.

[Gillianren]

When people use the wrong "its." Of all the grammar failings I see, it's the one that bothers me most. No, I don't know why.

[Noclevername]

"Irregardless". And "orientated".

[geonuc]

Professional tennis commentators who say things like this:

"He tends to overhit his backhand, does Federer."

Gah. Either leave off the last part if it's obvious who you're talking about, or replace 'He' with 'Federer'.

Tennis commentators in general tend to annoy me.

[Hornblower]

One of my unfavorites is the old spelling guide poem, "I before E, except after C, or when pronounced A, as in neighbor and weigh." It has so many exceptions that I find it unreliable. How about either, neither, their, science, or place names in the UK such as Leicester or Leith.

[Perikles]

People who phone your fixed telephone and find it's engaged, and so then phone your mobile (cellphone) instead. Actually, it's off-topic, because it's not trivial, it's uncivilized.

(n.b. Gillian: 4 out of 4 correct )

[TJMac]

The sound of other people clipping their nails.

TJ

[Buttercup]

People who still don't know how to use a PIN pad device. They've been around since 1853 practically...but nope. Still can't figure out swipe/enter PIN.

People who wait until the amount due comes up before starting to write out a check. Can't have filled out date, to whom paid, signed it beforehand.

[mike alexander]

People who seem totally unaware they occupy the planet with others.

I am not referring to pushy dolts, or those who don't care about others, but rather the ones who blithely walk across traffic without looking to see if Doom is bearing down with a couple tons of metal, or stop suddenly in the middle of the market aisle to ponder the choice between Fruity Corn Twists with Mushroom Kibbles and Sugar-Frosted Coprolites. And ponder. And ponder. And look at the sixteenth gallon of 0.836% milkfat cow squeezins in search of a day later sell-by. Or who meet a long-lost friend they haven't seen for two hours or more and get caught by the invisible bio-magnets in the door frame, blocking the way for anyone else.

[Trebuchet]

Oh yeah, oblivious people blocking the aisles in the supermarket bug the heck out of me. The stores don't help, either, by putting special sale displays sticking out everywhere.

[Noclevername]

I would say that those who block traffic (human or automotive) are not trivial; they're unaware of the basic courtesy that allows a civilization to function.

[Buttercup]

The lady at Sunday a.m. breakfast restaurant who ALWAYS tells (the very good, competent, likeable) waitress she wants crisp bacon. As if that waitress wouldn't possibly remember after years of Sundays...

[peteshimmon]

Listening to the Shipping forecast when I was
younger there was an area of sea west of Spain
called Finisterre. Lovely word that reverberated
from the old valve radio, FIN-IS-STAIRRRR. Now
they call it Fitzroy! Not the same. Was he not
bad tempered? Did he not give Darwin a hard time?
Bring back the old days!

[swampyankee]

Trivial stuff? If it bugs me, it's not trivia

Oh, and people who marvel at the fact I don't put sugar in my coffee or are shocked that I don't like mayonnaise.

[Gillianren]

I would say that those who block traffic (human or automotive) are not trivial; they're unaware of the basic courtesy that allows a civilization to function.

Quite right! I think one of the basic things everyone should do is learn how to be aware of the space around you, whether you're walking or driving. I was at Disneyland once, in line for Pirates of the Caribbean, and this little girl kept whapping me with her backpack every time she moved, because she forgot she was shaped differently. Her father gave me a long-suffering look and kind of shrugged. This only made me want to slap him, too, for not speaking to the child.

[Perikles]

Listening to the Shipping forecast when I was
younger there was an area of sea west of Spain
called Finisterre. Lovely word that reverberated
from the old valve radio, ...
they call it Fitzroy!

Let's be fair. If they hadn't renamed it, there would have been terrible confusion between that and the mountain range in Papua New Guinea

[starcanuck64]

Adults who chew and pop gum loudly in public spaces, we have lips for a reason. It don't mind it as much from children for some reason but adults who don't chew with their mouths closed really bother me.

[Celestial Mechanic]

Someone saying "We are making good progress." Is there such a thing as bad progress?

Also, the expression "close proximity". Is there such a thing as distant proximity?

[R.A.F.]

Tennis commentators in general tend to annoy me.

For me, it's sports commentators in general. Be it equestrian events or gymnastics or any event where things can go wrong in a hurry...it just chaps my hide when they say things like "now if he doesn't make a mistake....", which more often than not preceeds a mishap by microseconds.

Now I know they are not the cause of the mishap, but everytime they say stuff like that, I groan, awaiting the mishap.

[Trebuchet]

Someone saying "We are making good progress." Is there such a thing as bad progress?

I guess "bad progress" would be when you're moving forward, but not enough to achieve the goal at the required time. From my experience in business, however, that's usually what people really mean when they say "we are making good progress."

[Trebuchet]

Fake rock or bricks on the front of houses, with no conceivable structural purpose, and often hanging in space on a surface that sticks out from the foundation.

And I'll second the vote on the "i before e" rule since I just blew it on "conceivable" above. Thank goodness for spellcheck. I guess. Did you know spellcheck thinks "spellcheck" is misspelled?

[TJMac]

Quite right! I think one of the basic things everyone should do is learn how to be aware of the space around you, whether you're walking or driving. I was at Disneyland once, in line for Pirates of the Caribbean, and this little girl kept whapping me with her backpack every time she moved, because she forgot she was shaped differently. Her father gave me a long-suffering look and kind of shrugged. This only made me want to slap him, too, for not speaking to the child.

I just had a conversation with my daughter in a similar vein. In her situation, sitting at a booth, with the child behind her whamming back and forth. Perhaps I am out of line, but I would not suffer in silence. My children were taught to not behave like that, and I think anyone with a child should be alert enough to at least deal with the situation, rather than let it go on.

She said, "Well, dad, you are a big ugly guy with scars. You can look mean without trying. I don't have that option. (I have no idea what she means!)

TJ

[DoggerDan]

I just had a conversation with my daughter in a similar vein. In her situation, sitting at a booth, with the child behind her whamming back and forth. Perhaps I am out of line, but I would not suffer in silence. My children were taught to not behave like that, and I think anyone with a child should be alert enough to at least deal with the situation, rather than let it go on.

She said, "Well, dad, you are a big ugly guy with scars. You can look mean without trying. I don't have that option. (I have no idea what she means!)

TJ

Sort of like, "Walk softly but carry an ugly face?" I do resemble that remark. People say I look both scary and intimidating, until they get to know me.

[Solfe]

My wife's cat "talks". Her vocabulary is limited to "chup", "uh", "pa", "wa" and "eh" and she does this when walking around. Normally this is exceedingly cute and since we have had her for over a decade, my wife and I have grown used to her "talking".

The thing that bugs me is that she sometimes fools the children. I don't know how many times I hear:

Cat: "eh?"
Child 1: "What?"
Child 2: silence
Child 1 to Child 2: "What do you want?"
Child 2: "What?"
Child 1: "Why are you bothering me?"
Shouting commences.

[Perikles]

Trivial stuff? If it bugs me, it's not trivia .

Perhaps the idea is that you are aware something annoys you, but you are concious that it should not because it is trivial.

One expression really annoys me: potentially dangerous

Nobody says simply 'dangerous' anymore. Dangerous means having the potential to harm, to how can something be potentially dangerous? It turns out that here in Spain, the Spanish equivalent, potencialmente peligroso, has a legal distinction. A dog is potentially dangerous if it is of a particular breed and size that is recognized as a risk, so muzzle, licence, etc. A dog is officially dangerous if it has already attacked somebody. Work that one out.

[Luckmeister]

Retail clerks who ask "How are you?" but don't want to hear that you've had a crappy day.

[geonuc]

For me, it's sports commentators in general. Be it equestrian events or gymnastics or any event where things can go wrong in a hurry...it just chaps my hide when they say things like "now if he doesn't make a mistake....", which more often than not preceeds a mishap by microseconds.

Now I know they are not the cause of the mishap, but everytime they say stuff like that, I groan, awaiting the mishap.

That apparent phenomenon is called the 'announcers curse' on golf telecasts. It's actually an excellent example of observation bias (if that's the right bias term). The announcer says something like "Tiger hasn't missed a put inside 6 feet all day" and Tiger proceeds to miss a <6 ft putt. It seems to happen so often that you're left thinking there's something to it. If you didn't know better, that is.

But aside from what I mentioned earlier, what really bugs me with tennis commentators is their penchant to immediately analyze and attribute some reason for a missed shot - "He went for too much", "She really tightened up on that return" and the like, when the more accurate thing to say would be "He missed the shot". John McEnroe is perhaps the worst.

[LaurelHS]

People who ask the price of something and then get annoyed with the cashier because the price is higher than they wanted. People need to get it through their heads that a cashier doesn't choose the price of the items, he or she just rings them up.