Editor's Corner

Hey folks! A few weeks ago, I got a question from one of you about peeves. Pet peeves to be exact. What is a peeve? Do you have one for a pet? I know that I have a few—I’ve even shared them with you over the years. In fact, here are my top 3 (of 10) from 10 years ago: Editor’s Corner: Top 10 Peeves for 2015 (1 through 3) | Editor’s Corner.

But let’s first define what we are talking about (according to Merriam-Webster):

peeve (noun): something that is a source of irritation; problem; irritant; nuisance.

peevish (adjective): easily irritated or annoyed; snappish; crotchety [KC – I don’t
hear Americans saying this, but in the British shows that I watch I hear it frequently.]

pet peeve (noun): a frequent subject of complaint

Now, for some specifics about pet peeves. A pet peeve isn’t just something that bothers people in general. For example, a person yelling at us for no reason is not a pet peeve—most of us would not enjoy that.

A pet peeve is personal. It is something that many people would shrug off or not even notice. For example, one sees and hears the word impacted a lot these days, used in place of affected. For example, “Three clients were impacted by this power loss.” Well, when I was growing up, the word impacted meant “immovably pressed in,” and was only used for two specific occasions: teeth and butts (constipation). I know, yuck. Using the word impacted to mean affected is a pet peeve of mine, and I will edit it out if you send a document using it that way.

I realize words change and times change, but what I grew up with sticks with me, and this peeve is one of my pets.

Here are some examples from The Grammarist, of pet peeves in sentences:

• Her pet peeve made her miserable; she hated being able to hear anyone breathing, making her hypersensitive and often cranky when in the presence of others.
• People’s geographical ignorance has become a huge pet peeve of mine. It’s absolutely maddening when people are stupid enough to think I come from a different country because I live in New Mexico.
• He never thought he had any pet peeves since he was such an easygoing person. However, he seriously found himself getting enraged by the lack of vehicular turn-signal use he was experiencing in the new town he had moved to.

And one addition about the origin of the phrase, also from The Grammarist:

Pet peeve came into use in the early 20th century from the combination of the word pet, meaning “an especially cherished thing,” and the word peeve, meaning “irritated or exasperated.”

I hope I didn’t make any of you feel peevish today!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

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