Day 3 - not even a little pevish
I’ve given myself a 30 minute time limit for this topic. I could literally get away with making a list and call it a day. But, the whole point of this challenge I’ve given myself is to produce better writing. So, here we are, two minutes in and all I’ve done is re-tell to you my plan.
Do you have a weird pet peeve? Like, does it really peeve you when you’re driving home in the evening and the sun is blinding you from that tiny slit between your visor and door frame and there’s nothing you can do about it but position yourself in such a way that you look like a hunchback, but you can at least see the road? No? Yeah, me either…
I do, however, have an aversion to the noises people make when they eat - I cannot eat in silence with others. I didn’t realize these noises were an issue for me until recently - maybe the last three or four years. I think there is always so much noise in my house that I never noticed how loud the sound of someone’s tongue sloshing food around in their mouth can sound from the OUTSIDE. <insert green puking emoji> Sorry, that was graphic.
I’ve found in my adult life, I actually have an aversion to most noises. Specifically, please don’t open the mail, or a package, or put foil on a dish, or clip your nails while I’m talking to you on the phone. This could be the pet peeve most people know I have…Everyone I talk with on the phone knows anyway… I do my best to ignore those noises, but usually my first words are, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”, not in the happiest voice. <insert shrug emoji> The response I get is a little giggle from the other end of the phone because they don’t realize they are doing anything that’s making noise. It’s fine. Everything’s fine.
Pet peeves is such an odd phrase. You better believe I looked up the meaning of the term in preparation of the topic for today. Look at me! Overachiever!! So, I’ll share with you what I learned from our old pals Merriam and Webster.
The word peeve is apparently a shortened version of the word peevish - “which comes from the Middle English pevish (meaning “spiteful”), has had a small range of closely-related meanings over the years (it’s been in use since the 15th century): “querulous, fretful,” “perversely obstinate,” and “marked by ill temper.”
“Pet has been in use as an adjective since the late 16th century, initially in the sense of “kept or taken as a pet.” This use of pet (as in pet dog or pet lamb) remained the primary sense of this part of speech until the 19th century, when the word broadened in meaning, and began to be employed to refer to things which were particularly beloved or cherished. By the middle of the 19th century the word was being used in an ironic manner, coupled with nouns such as hate, aversion, or dislike.”
There you go, a little pet peeve info. Is your pet peeve having to listen to annoying facts from some random lady on the internet? No? Good, I hope you liked it.
My time is up! No more writing. I’m off to proofread for spelling and grammar, but no-rewrite.
Featured Photo by Matt Seymour on Unsplash
