Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Premium
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Stephanie Worsop: Going down the rabbit hole of pet peeves

Stephanie Arthur-Worsop
Stephanie Arthur-Worsop
News Director, Rotorua Daily Post·Rotorua Daily Post·
6 Mar, 2021 10:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Have you totes shortened words or replace a toilet roll the wrong way? Chances are you've probs annoyed somebody, writes Stephanie Arthur-Worsop. Photo / Getty Images

Have you totes shortened words or replace a toilet roll the wrong way? Chances are you've probs annoyed somebody, writes Stephanie Arthur-Worsop. Photo / Getty Images

Stephanie Arthur-Worsop

OPINION

The other day one of our workplace banter breaks turned to the subject of pet peeves.

It started when a colleague piped up to say they hated it when people wrote out mobile numbers in one continuous line.

It was an oddly specific pet peeve and, although I agreed wholeheartedly (I'm 500 per cent more likely to mistype a phone number that has no spaces), I doubted it would be something people thought twice about if that was how they had always written out phone numbers.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Nonetheless, this admission kicked off a 10-minute conversation in which everybody shared the small, insignificant things people did (probably unknowingly) that annoyed them to no end.

One person said they couldn't stand it when people said literally when they meant figuratively while another said they became irrationally angry when the toilet roll wasn't positioned outwards (this frustration, they said, was amplified as their partner was notorious for putting the roll on willy nilly).

One person's pet peeve, which got multiple nods of agreement, was people who unnecessarily or excessively shortened words.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The standard pet peeves were mentioned too, of course.

People chewing loudly or slurping their drinks, groups of people who walk in a line on the footpath and perhaps the most relatable given the times we're living in - people who don't cover their mouth when they cough.

Discover more

How did my strict Italian mum turn into a soft, indulgent nonna?

27 Feb 08:00 PM

Stephanie Worsop: When a daredevil toddler makes baby-proofing impossible

12 Feb 09:00 PM

Stephanie Worsop: The new obsession that's made us drop our phones

05 Feb 11:00 PM
Kahu

Reformed crime boss Billy Macfarlane is proving that his Pūwhakamua programme can rehabilitate hardened criminals

07 Feb 10:00 PM

As far as my contribution to the conversation went, I said I hated it when people stood on both sides of the escalator, preventing others from walking up and people who talked about their diet while you ate something unhealthy (I don't care about how great paleo is Susan, let me eat my burger in peace).

Eventually, the conversation petered out and we turned back to our computer screens but I couldn't stop thinking about the subject.

I find it fascinating how something I don't even think about could be the thing that drives another person crazy.

Pet peeves are minor enough that they don't warrant an argument, or even a mention most of the time but they do tend to be the source of the odd eye roll or exasperated sigh.

So how do you ensure you're not subconsciously doing things that annoy others?

Based on the pet peeves my workmates mentioned, I need to stop saying literally, totes, obvs and defs and I need to start paying attention to what way I'm putting the loo roll on.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

That's easy enough.

But then I made the mistake of Googling pet peeves and list after list came up containing dozens of submissions.

People who use redundant hashtags on social media, People who say something "will give you all the feels", people who say "no problem!" or "no worries!" in response to thank you and people who click their pen or tap their foot constantly.

Well damn, I'm guilty of all of those!

Without asking everyone I meet what their pet peeves are and compiling an extensive list of things to avoid doing, I think I'll just have to keep being me and hope I don't annoy too many people.

After all, Susan won't ever stop telling me about her fad diets and I will forever be getting stuck behind standing escalator riders, but that's no prob.

Save
    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Premium
Bay of Plenty Times

Former city councillor's gold-trading business collapses

19 Sep 06:00 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Absolutely nuts': Hailstorm hits ahead of school holiday 'atmospheric river'

19 Sep 06:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

20-minute free parking approved for Tauranga city centre and fringe zones

19 Sep 01:52 AM

Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Premium
Premium
Former city councillor's gold-trading business collapses
Bay of Plenty Times

Former city councillor's gold-trading business collapses

Liquidators say unsecured creditors are owed more than $300,000.

19 Sep 06:00 PM
'Absolutely nuts': Hailstorm hits ahead of school holiday 'atmospheric river'
Bay of Plenty Times

'Absolutely nuts': Hailstorm hits ahead of school holiday 'atmospheric river'

19 Sep 06:00 AM
20-minute free parking approved for Tauranga city centre and fringe zones
Bay of Plenty Times

20-minute free parking approved for Tauranga city centre and fringe zones

19 Sep 01:52 AM


Kiwi campaign keeps on giving
Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP