I Am Feeling Peevish Today

July 9--What are some of your biggest pet peeves?

You know, I started to say that I'm a grammar-nazi, but I'm not, really. What I dislike is improper word usage. I have the usual favorites: their/there/they're and your/you're (I think that is the worst one). But one that gets me that most people don't have a clue about is fewer/less. You use fewer when it refers to things you can count, and use less when it is about amounts. Here are some examples.

• Fewer raindrops but less rain
• Fewer items in your cart but less groceries
• Fewer miles to drive but less distance to go
• Fewer nurses but less staff
• Fewer pennies but less money
• Less clothing but fewer shirts
• Less pets but fewer cats
• Less fruit but fewer grapes
• Less children but fewer sons (I'm not 100% sure about this one)

Anyway, you get the idea hopefully. When you see that sign at the checkout that says "10 items or less", you can now say, "That should say 10 items or fewer." And you would be correct.

Another thing that makes me peevish is inconsiderate people. Don't they know the Golden Rule? Boy, the world would be such a nicer place if everyone practiced that.

By Norman Rockwell

And what about one-up-man-ship! If someone is telling you a story, don't try to one-up them. Your friend tells you about her son's A report. Don't step in and tell her about your son's A+ report. Let her revel in her proud moment. It makes me peevish if I'm telling my friend about what an awful night I had, and then she has to tell me either 1) what I did wrong to make my night awful, or 2) how much more awful was her night. Grrr. Couldn't she just listen to me and give me some time to be pitiful?

Others:

• Letting doors slam
• Poor manners at the dinner table
• Gossip
• Losing my crochet hooks
• Running late (I used to always be on time or early; now I can't get anywhere on time)
• Improperly fitting bras 
• Kids who disrespect elders
• Someone jumping into a parking space I'm waiting for
• Getting to the register and there is no price on my item
• Running out of ink on the printer

I guess I had better stop before you think that I'm always irritable. I do tend to let things get to me, but over the years I've learned to be more tolerant and to let things roll off me. Take a few deep breathes and let it go.

All photos were slurped from the web.