h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm on Anna's side. People aren't psychic; not letting them know certainly isn't helping anything.

Not letting them know what?

My mother used to switch into Dutch to scold us in public, because that's nobody else's business

In England I do it in German, here I do it in English.

Very useful. If I ever have children, they'll have to grow up multilingual!

In your family? not possible

Who knows, they might have a German father and I'll live in Germany forever and...

Nah Too boring.

I can't imagine that for a second! But if you want some practice, I can send the Gruesomes up for the rest of the school term?

Anyway I have another petty hate.

It is people who won't give you the right of way when it is cleary yours (driving one). In our village, the road towards the town is narrow, and has cars parked on both sides (they leave gaps, so the cars coming either in or out can slalom)

Twice today (once in and once out) I've had a car come at me, and then not be able to get past me because there was another car behind me, and the slalom was quite close together. Luckily for me I wasn't in a hurry so I just sat there until he reversed back to let us through.

Heheheehe. He thought he'd shave a nanosecond off his journey by doing that. Not with me, buster.

another one:

I hate it when I click a link (and forget to make it open in another window) and... the back-button is disabled.

Well done, Sho!

My petty hate of the day - when sandwiches and gravity combine to drop crumbs down my bra.

On one occasion I switched off my engine and got my book out... but I didn't have a book with me today

Well, I have to say- I'm english, but I speak French and German, and I always insult people in French if they're german, and german if they're french, and both to english people. Sometimes I throw the little bits of Italian that I know in as well.
Hmm... the person that I'm ed off with is in my german class- insults in french, i think???

When you call someone a chav (because they are) so they go out and buy a Razorlight album and say "I'm no a chav, I'm indie".

Or something along those lines.

Coral x

Insulting people in a language they can't understand? How very *clever*

Mr X, thank you.

Mala, yes I do agree on that… but that petty hate relates back to a Polish fella I used to know, and who did the same thing, especially when I was standing there- always had me wondering were they talking about me or not…

If I can help it, my kids will grow up multilingual too- they’ll have English, Spanish and maybe a bit of Finnish too (and if they do it’ll most likely be better than mine).

I insult the younger arses in my school cos I know they won’t go and look it up. Or I will use something like ‘song’ (laulu in Finnish) and take pleasure in knowing they think it’s a really vicious swear word when it isn't… stupid I know but so very satisfying.

There was a great moment at the cup final yesterday when a singer's microphone failed and you could actually hear the crowd singing Abide With Me. Yes, I like to hear the crowd singing AWM and for me it's never been the same since they asked pro singers to lead the singing. And yes, I know I moan about it every year.

Yes... no matter what song it is (for me, I like rocky stuff) but I know the feeling you're talking about, I think- was same for me when the entire Point in Dublin was singing When September Ends and Time of Your Life at the GD gig in 05... powerful, gave me shivers; even listening back to the recordings I made still gives me shivers.

I'm just reading a story online where someone has had a car accident and is in a "comma". How very terrible for them.

Not only that, but when the author pluralises it, it becomes "comma's".

oh no - just say no to fanfiction!

Fanfiction would be fine if people just took the trouble to learn how to spell their own language.

I love fanfiction (god knows I write and read enough of it myself) but that’s the reason why I became a beta for some kids- I’m a grammar Nazi and I hate bad English- having said that, I will give them some leniency if English isn't their first language but even if it or isn't, it doesn’t use much energy to ask for a beta on mailing lists and such!

Grrr. Bad punctuation/grammar/language use in general really throw you out of the mood you’re in when reading it, too.