Most petulant peeves are just that: petulant. Little annoyances most of us have that, in the big picture, are of little consequence.But this one ticks me off more than others, although still probably petty compared to dying from swine flu (oops, H1N1), which would be pretty annoying.
I am speaking of the increasingly common usage in the mainstream, of people saying they are "p***ed off" at something. This word, associated with uh....urinating, is nearly as offensive as its companion word (uh...slang for # 2). For some reason, p***ed is seen in magazines, heard in interviews on broadcast TV and other places where it shouldn't be.
Occasionally, a "star" will utter the word as in "That really p***es me off!" and then quickly says to Leno or Letterman, "Oops, can I say that on TV?" Well, obviously someone thinks they can or it would have been bl**ped. And the English must hear it even more if Chef Gordon Ramsay is illustrative of its use, as he tells nearly everyone to "p**s off".
I guess it is just one more instance of the "dumbing" of American English, that through use (and misuse) it has been added to the vernacular.When irritated, I get "peeved", "ticked off", but never "p***ed off". For me, that should only be reserved for the fly on the toilet seat.
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