Comment #1: Diaries like this one.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I read a diary by LaFeministathe other day that got me thinking. Give it a read, it's good. It is a sincere request that I hadn't ever taken into account. So many writers are concerned with style, substance, accuracy, spelling, grammar, and subject matter that they may over look the reader.
I started thinking about a particular pet peeve of mine, and how commonly our misspoken language ends up being written. This may be particularly frustrating for someone who reads "differently". It happens everywhere, all the time and I don't think too many people even take notice of it.
More under the boardwalk...
My pet peeve, when reading anything, is the absurdity of the phrases "at about" and "at around". I'll no doubt be accused of being the grammar police for even bringing this up, but I'll use my local paper's police page as an example. I constantly read how an incident occurred "at about" 11:27 pm, or whatever time.
When I read a time like 11:27, that seems very accurate. Why not write that the incident occurred around 11:30. That way you can never be accused of being factually incorrect. I still get the information without butchering the language. Things happen at a specific time, if you don't know exactly when, just tell me you don't know.
It's just too common a thing for my taste, and far too many writers do it. When I read (or hear a newscaster use) the phrase "at about" or "at around", they don't sound accurate. "About" and "around" are subjective words that are very non specific. Placing the word "at" before either of these words creates an oxymoron, and anything written or spoken afterward is wholly inaccurate.
I make this error when speaking and try to catch myself ahead of time, though not always successfully, I will admit.
I will not write it.
My boss expects me to be at work at a specific time and if I show up too often about that time, I'll be hanging around here wasting all of your time with diaries like this one.
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Speaking of bosses and jobs, work pet peeves:
People who walk up to an elevator and push the already lit button. The elevator does not come faster the more you push the button.
People who walk up to an elevator and push the up and down buttons. Then they get on the first elevator that shows up and complain that it's going in the wrong direction.
People who will not wait for people to get off the elevator before they try to get on it.
People who see that the escalator is out of service and begin walking up, only to realize that I've removed 3 or 4 steps and am in the process of repairing it. Then they complain how I've ruined their day.
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*If you have read this and are going to comment, please feel free to flame me, but this is not meant to be about politics. We can all list many political pet peeves, but let's not do it here.
I'm sure everyone's pet peeve is people like me, writing stuff like this.