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Pedants' corner

Let’s have a rant about behaviour and appearance

(70 Posts)
Swedenana Sat 14-May-11 09:52:32

Heheh, the comment about the dangly jeans reminded me of being out with my beautiful daughter a few weeks ago. We were on the train, which was quite crowded, and a young man was standing in the corridor just by our seats. He had on a pair of those dreadful crotch-at-the knee jeans, displaying a good couple of inches of his underwear and far more of his flesh than we wanted to see. Anyway, as we left our seats to get off, Emma leaned over to him with a gorgeous smile and said 'If I wanted to see your ass, I'd be your girlfriend. For God's sake pull up your bloody jeans!'
I was so proud of my girl - a grumpy granny in the making, and only 28 wink

milliej Fri 13-May-11 22:23:23

Don't get me started on fashion...fashion....lack of more like! Good grief half of them here go out in what could be mistaken for nighties or underwear and as little as possible yes and in the cold and wet! The men walk around in vests and jeans, oh I don't like the warm weather any more, much too much flesh bulging out everywhere I agree with the posts above!
I wonder, do they think they're 'sexy'? Probably....shame.....hehe good to have a grump smile

milliej Fri 13-May-11 22:18:23

Am I invisible....it's like I am when I walk through town, whatever happened to respect for the older (elderly!) generation.
My daughter said we need to earn respect but I just want them to move over instead of trying to knock me over with a bike (why no bells any more with realms of health and safety)
I just want them to say 'excuse me' because I don't (yet) have eyes in the back of my head. I just want them to acknowledge that perhaps because I've lived longer I am a little more knowledgeable than they are and not ga ga...not yet anyway!
And thats just for starters, litter but (it's the councils job!!) just pick it upangry.
Do women of a certain age still cook because the number of bakeries and take aways where I live abound....and do remarkably well! Or is it that so many people are living alone these days and can't be bothered?

jangly Fri 13-May-11 18:12:34

I think we just need give and take on both sides. Cycling is good for the environment but it would be impossible to provide safe cycling lanes everywhere. Cyclists need to respect pedestrians and give them due care, getting off and pushing their bikes when there is not enough room, but pedestrians need to stay good humoured and not be deliberately bolshy to cyclists.

jangly Fri 13-May-11 18:07:34

No nannym they should get in their cars and contribute to global warming like everyone else.

I remember when John Prescott brought in on the spot fines for cycling on the pavement he said "Obviously I'm not talking about little old ladies wobbling along with their bags of shopping...". So, I'm ok. smile Especially as I always dismount for toddlers and pushchairs.

moomin Fri 13-May-11 17:50:46

I have decided NEVER to move over out of oncomers way again! No-one gives way to my partner and I!! I'm going to cultivate very sharp elbows and a noncholant air in future ;)

nannym Fri 13-May-11 07:01:25

I agree with all the hates here, but top of my list is adult cyclists who insist on riding on the pavement. Of course I appreciate that small children must use the pavement when they first start venturing out, and I wouldn't have it any other way, but I can't help feeling that if an adult doesn't feel able to cycle safely on the road then he/she shouldn't really be cycling at all.

riclorian Thu 12-May-11 21:36:20

Litter Louts -- Whatever has happened to' Anti-litter' and 'Spitting prohibited' signs ? Why should I , as a conscientious dog owner , who always picks up' ,risk his health and safety ( not to mention a hefty vet's bill )every time I walk him ?.There are plenty of signs warning dog-owners to 'pick up or pay up' , why not the same for litter louts ? This is my pet ( excuse pun !!) moan.

Snowdrop Thu 12-May-11 21:11:09

My pet hates are:

Cyclists who cut up the inside of slowing moving cars in heavy traffic, cycle the wrong way up one way streets, cycle through red lights and cycle across pedestrian crossings. (Can you tell I work in Cambridge?)

When one holds open a shop door for the next person, and they just walk through without any acknowledgement. What happened to those two magic words 'Thank you'.

Tattoos and body piercings of any kind, in particular when accompanying rolls of blubber.

supernana Thu 12-May-11 12:18:39

gingerbread...you are a real lady. Sadly, sometimes it's impossible to make silk purses out of pigs' ears...wink

gingerbread Wed 11-May-11 18:37:43

Can't stand:

Tattoos on the lower back which show above the inevitable thong
People who cover one nostril and then blow the contents of the other onto the pavement
Men who scratch their balls in public

You can tell I live in a nice area can't you? wink

grandmaagain Wed 11-May-11 14:47:06

tattoos and multipile piercings make me shuddershock

supernana Wed 11-May-11 14:24:14

Yes...folk who talk too loudly in restaurants and on public transport [especially long train journeys] give me the proverbial pip. My headmaster [back in the 1940s] used to say..."empty vessels make the most noise"...at that time I was forever getting the ruler because I chatted too much...but then I was everso young at the time...grin

mollie Wed 11-May-11 14:14:17

Bad lane etiquette at roundabouts and driving around the outside of the roundabout without indicating which seems to becoming the norm locally ...

Wearing summer gear in the depths of a snowy winter (why???)

Talking far too loudly in restaurants so that the whole room can join in the conversation...

The new trend of eating and drinking and having mobile phone conversations in libraries... someone (grown man) was asleep on a beanbag on the floor of mine this morning! What's that all about?

supernana Wed 11-May-11 13:50:48

...the constant lauding of so-called "celebrities" who do nothing other than spend a fortune on botox [can't smile] and breasts [only to have the silicone removed] and still get paid an absolute fortune for looking bored to death...and as for the rubbish on television - who in their right mind wants to enjoy the squalor of a few? I shall never resort to bad language on Gransnet but golly-gee do I make up for it in private!

lionlilac Wed 11-May-11 13:30:16

You are not a grumpy old woman NanaAnna just a woman who has good taste in her entertainment and appreciates 'good manners'.

NanaAnna Wed 11-May-11 13:09:48

Boy racers who try to climb into my boot even though I am travelling at the correct speed.
Pedestrians or other drivers who do not acknowledge when I have given way to them.
The rubbish on TV most nights
Religious zealots who ring the doorbell when I have just got the grandchildren down for their afternoon nap.

I am not a gentle old dear, just a grunpy old woman! wink

lionlilac Wed 11-May-11 12:56:09

Don't you just long to pull up trousers that hang under their hips. How do they manage to walk properly, I'd be terrified of them falling down completely.

supernana Wed 11-May-11 12:09:13

Drinking straight from the bottle...eating vast burgers whilst walking through town and talking on a cell phone at the same time - exposing the upper part of the rear-end [low-rise jeans] - careless throwing down/leaving of litter on benches/public places for someone else to remove - fly-tipping [discoved a mattress and a lavatory in a lay-by recently] - motorists who rev-up when I'm attempting to cross the road and my jippy hip is paining me - folk who cannot bring themselves to say please, thank you and excuse me. That's just for starters. Otherwise, I promise you that I am a gentle, kind and decent "old lady"...wink

Nono Wed 11-May-11 09:59:47

Scattered among the rants in the poor grammar thread are one or two mentions of the things we see, so I thought these warranted a discussion of their own.
To start with a couple of examples that make me shudder:
- Holding cutlery like a pencil or using it to stab at the plate - it doesn't even look comfortable.
- The over display of flesh everywhere - I really don't need to see so much.
How do others react?