We hear about the freakouts, the verbal lashings, the accidents and many more.
But what are some small things, things that have little consequence but are still infuriating or that drive you up the wall?
Here are some examples of my own:
- People flocking to the metro doors without leaving proper space for people to leave.
- Hearing the same 3 questions at work every time.
- People walking slow enough to pass but not letting you.
People who think freedom of speech also means freedom from consequences.
Bigots being criticized is proof the system is working.
Fucktards voting for fascists.
That doesn’t sound very small to me good sir
Cars going into the pedestrian crossing area at red lights
Grains of sand
Sounds pretty rough
Uber/Dash drivers parking wherever suits them, blocking lanes. Inconsiderate pricks!
Then I get annoyed at the companies forcing them to meet unrealistic expectations or they stop getting jobs.
Then I get annoyed at myself for getting annoyed at the poor bastards busting their asses to make a living in a system that treats them as entirely replaceable.
Mostly pedantic language things like people misusing “empathy” (it’s not a synonym to sympathy god-damn-it) and “disinterested” (not synonymous to uninterested god-damn-it). Misuse of semicolons is especially frustrating to me; there are so many people out there, who do not understand the weight difference a semicolon creates, and then thoughtlessly use it to seem smart (wink, wink).
Please expand on your understanding of semicolons
Sorry it took me so long to respond; I had to find my copy of The Elements of Style by Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. Here is a relevant quote from that excellent style guide:
If two or more clauses grammatically complete and not joined by a conjunction are to form a single compound sentence, the proper mark of punctuation is a semicolon.
Mary Shelley’s works are entertaining; they are full of engaging ideas.
[…vs.]
Mary Shelley’s works are entertaining. They are full of engaging ideas.
[…vs.]
Mary Shelley’s works are entertaining, for they are full of engaging ideas.
[…] A comparison of the three forms given above will show clearly the advantage of the first. It is, at least in the examples given, better than the second form because it suggests the close relationship between the two statements in a way that the second does not attempt, and better than the third because it is briefer and therefore more forcible. […]
Note that if the second clause is preceded by an adverb, such as accordingly, besides, then, therefore, or thus, and not by a conjunction, the semicolon is still required.
I had never been in the place before; besides, it was dark as a tomb.
Alright, back to me. A good example of what I’m referring to with “weight” is revealed when discussing how to properly use a semicolon with an ordinary colon. A semicolon is “heavier” than a colon; let me give you an example to illustrate this.
The answer: humanity is doomed; the people are angry.
This is stylisticly bad, because the semicolon separates the clause “the people are angry” from the context (the scope, if you’re a programmer) of the colon: now the clause is equal to the rest of the sentence, “The answer: humanity is doomed,” instead of serving as part of the clause “The answer:” is describing. The correct—that is, the intended—sentence would simply be this:
The answer: humanity is doomed, the people are angry.
One might think that this is illegal, as there is no conjunction, but, indeed, that presumption would be incorrect: “[…] humanity is doomed, the people are angry” is actually a list and the author of the sentence (me, muahahahaha) is using a literary device called asyndeton.
Here’s an example of asyndeton:
The ingredients of despair: hope, yearning, jealousy, conjecture.
The incorrect version would be with a semicolon introducing the last element of the list.
The ingredients of despair: hope, yearning, jealousy; conjecture.
Because the first example has only two elements, it can seem like one has to use a semicolon, but I think that the example given above shows how that is, in reality, quite absurd.
Alright, rant over, I hope this has sufficiently answered your question! Have a good day :)
Is English your native language? As a native Spanish speaker myself I find using semicolons correctly easy enough, but most english speakers prefer to avoid them and many just don’t understand them. I’ve even had teachers at uni mark me down for using them appropriately. I gave up almost entirely with their use when writing in English because of this.
English class is just a place to go to be wrong according to someone with no actual skills.
English itself is the result of numerous rounds of multilingual people mashing together the most efficient bits of other languages. The rules are so inconsistent that there kind of aren’t any. Also, written English and spoken English are two different languages with different rules, which is why you sound pompous when reading aloud formal essays and why you have to invent emoticons and even start to do rich formatting and change fonts to translate casual conversation into writing.
Take a persuasive writing class at an American college, typically numbered as ENG-112, they might touch on a few points about how to create effective arguments, they’re mostly going to grade on pedantic points of grammar, punctuation, spelling and MLA formatting. They’re not going to teach you a damn thing about teaching, partially because they’re obligated to generate test scores and testing a skill-based curriculum is more difficult than a pedantic rule following one, and mostly because they don’t have any actual teaching skills themselves.
Which is why there is a nationwide industry of your high school teacher teaching you how to use semicolons and a college professor marking you wrong for doing it that way.
Shifting a manual transmission incorrectly
This is the only correct answer
Doesn’t matter how many times I do laundry, my clothes still get dirty :(
Just don’t wear them then
People who don’t return their cart to the cart corral in the grocery store parking lot
People who act like they are blind to others in the supermarket. Not making space for others, blocking us with their trolley etc. It’s not a museum.
Here’s a really small one: when one of my toenails has a sharp corner to it that snags on the sheets.
And socks…
Ugh… It is like fingernails on a chalkboard for me
Neighbors running their leaf blowers for hours and super early or late in the day
People spelling “seperately” instead of “separately”.
People on the motorway overtaking you just so they can drive slower than you once they’re in front of you. I always wonder why did they bother overtaking in the first place.
I do that sometimes, but only if the person in front of me is driving slower than my cruise control. then i overtake them, during which they obviously have to speed up and when i go back to cruise control speed now I’m the slow one
People speed up while you overtake them?
This fucks me off sooooooooo much; in NZ there are a lot of (a fuck of a lot) of roads that don’t have overtaking zones for a long way.
Getting an opportunity to overtake the slow prick you have been following for 20 minutes, just to have them speed up…forcing me to go faster than I’m comfortable with, then being in front and have them sitting on your arse for the next 10km, even though you are going faster than before you overtook them…FUCK OFF!!!
That innocent people will die due to selfishness and bigotry. And that it is decidedly ok.
That’s a small thing?
Its the only thing everything else isn’t even a consideration
People speaking on their phone using a loudspeaker.
People who don’t understand basic elevator etiquette and attempt to walk in before people get off.
People who play Karaoke loud enough for anyone outside of their home to hear.
People who drive two motorbikes / bicycles beside each other and talk, thereby blocking traffic.
People who cut in line.
People who don’t clean up after their pets.
People who get angry at the animals and not the owners for the above.
People who display a total ignorance of the most basic facts regarding other countries.
Dysfunctionally incompetent and/or lazy staff (beyond what is acceptable for low income workers).
Bureaucrats who clearly prioritise covering their ass over performing the most basic functions of their job.
People who are rude/dismissive to others who are smaller/weaker/meeker than them.
Racist taxi drivers.
Asshole bus drivers.
People who don’t apologise when they are wrong and know it.
I can think of more but I’ll stop there.
