Pet-Peeve-Me-Nots

It is a rare occasion that I get to teach my boyfriend or Swedish friends an English word or phrase they don't already know. While experiencing the horror of riding the subway home together during rush hour last week, I used and subsequently explained the expression pet peeves to Klas. Now it's been coming up all over the place... yes Jamie, including your most recent post :)

There is no direct translation for pet peeve in Swedish. That is not to say that Swedes do not suffer from the particular or often continual annoyances that get under our skin, they simply do not have a word or phrase to describe them. The English language, I have realized, does not have a word or phrase to describe the opposite of a pet peeve--something small or particular that brings you delight. I find that strange, and as someone fascinated with language, I have been struck by the idea that there seems to be more English words to describe negative feelings and things than there are words to describe all things positive and wonderful. (If I ever go to grad school, I think I may just have a topic for my dissertation right there.)

So, in the spirit of being positive, and because my personal list of pet peeves is longer than I'd like to admit, here are a couple peeve-me-nots:
 People who give up their seat on the subway for pregnant or elderly women
 Young children with very good manners
 People with large vocabularies
 Roommates who do their own dishes
 Punctuality
 Chewing gum with a closed mouth :)
 When someone holds the door open for me on the elevator
 Strangers who make eye contact when walking by
 People who are humble...especially when they have good reason to be proud