Things That Make Me Go....Grrrrr!

I've wanted to write a pet peeve article for a long time, but wanted to figure out a way to make it informational rather than just plain whining. Most of what bothers me consists of misleading or incorrect usage of words. I wonder if the people are using these words intentionally to mislead, or do they truly not know the definition of these words. I decided that maybe a definition lesson was at hand, not only for myself, but for others. Out comes the Webster's Dictionary.

We'll start with my biggest pet peeve - the word "rare." Webster's Dictionary describes "rare" as infrequently found, seen or experienced. There are a number of items on ebay right now described as rare and none are worthy of that adjective. There is the "RARE 4 Deviled Egg KINGS CROWN Dinner Plates." OK you experienced KC collectors - stop your snickering. This item is the snack plate with an indention for a coffee cup. I was trying to think of what sized egg would you need to fit into that spot - a deviled goose egg?! ;) I'm not trying to be mean, but I'm finding that when the word rare is used, it generally means that they "rarely" know what the item is.

My second pet peeve word is "mint." Mint means not marred or soiled, as if new. I don't see this word abused quite as much as the word rare. I have seen ebay auctions that say "King's Crown goblet mint condition....except for a few scratches to the stain. King's Crown butter dish mint conditon....except for a few flea bites to lid." Come on sellers if it has problems it's not mint! Now, I do consider something mint if it has manufacturer's flaws like bubbles or straw marks. Those are created in the making of the piece. Anything that happens after it leaves the factory, though, can take away it's mint status.

The next 2 items I often find labeled incorrectly are goblets and tumblers. I often find that people think the words are interchangable. I must admit I wondered if I didn't know the correct definition of the words and looked them up to see what I thought was correct. A goblet is a drinking vessel of glass or metal without handles but with a stem, a stand, and sometimes a cover. A tumbler is an ordinary drinking glass without a foot or stem. Ordinarily this wouldn't be a big deal, but as ebay grows the amount of auctions one has to look through are going into the hundreds. When I open an aution to look, I want the description to be correct.

I'll have more definitions as time goes on, but I really wanted to add one last pet peeve....the dancing duck! Has anyone seen an auction that has the dancing duck and plays the music "Camptown Races." Not only does it take a LONG time to download, but come on people-a dancing duck?! Grrrrr!!!!!