Sick of hearing about "bits"

[HelloDenise]

I'm fed up of reading about people going to B&M, Home Bargains, Next, M&S, the pound shop or wherever to get some autumn .... BITS!

Throws, pumpkins, candles, cushions, foliage, wreaths and garlands ARE NOT BLOODY BITS! They're whole, substantial items, not bits of items .

Where the hell did this come from? Or should I be on Pedants' corner?

What’s wrong with saying ‘things’?

Bits just sounds revolting.

I hate it when anyone refers to ‘picky bits’ as though it sounds even slightly appetising 🤢🤮

Oh the horrors you guys endure. How do you cope?

We’re not coping. This is a support thread.

Think you need more support than a forum can offer to be honest.

Why don’t you teach your teen to cook simple meals?

Yes like then it’s like Christmas where are you meant to put all this stuff more rubbish for in your loft

'Picky bits' is the absolute worst
Drives me to homicidal rage 😡

See also: 'wedgie picker' advert for something undercarriage related.

It dates back to the 1700s...

I can't say that any word or phrase has made me rage or puke. Are you all ok?

Yes I think there is!! Honestly I cannot be trusted at b&m or home bargains! It's amazing how much stuff I 'need' when I go in!!

When hipster type waiting staff ask if you if you want ‘shrooms’ or ‘guac’ with your meal these words boil my blood

Vomiting, nausea, shuddering, skin crawling, blood boiling. They are definitely not ok.

Perfectly reasonable reactions to "picky bits tea" in my book. Some standards have to be maintained, surely.

A support for bits ? Isn't that a jock strap ?

Don’t say jock. I’ll surely faint.

Have you nothing better to do that worry about words that other people use??

Be careful it doesn’t escalate to bobs

I once saw a woman spend £170 in Home Bargains and it was years ago before prices went up. She had a huge trolley piled up. Was it you?

We have picky bits for tea on occasions. Sometimes random bits from the freezer that I want to use up. Sometimes “bits” I have bought specifically for us all to “pick” at. I bought some Halloween “bits” today - which will go in the loft after Halloween with the other Halloween “bits” we already have.

I do not care in the slightest that my use of the word/phrase annoys some people and actually find it amusing that they care enough to be so upset by it that they need to start a post to rant about it.

Worry???

It's a forum. Being on it doesn't mean you have nothing better to do, don't care about world peace, climate change or if your bum looks big in this.

It's just a forum. Just chat. Don't take it so seriously.

It’s just word … don’t take it so seriously!

I didn’t read it as the OP being upset - I think that’s too strong. It seems a pretty lighthearted thread to me. In my experience, some people are more interested in and attuned to language than others and I think more likely to be mildly irritated by certain phrases.

Nonetheless, I do think it’s just human nature to be irritated by language use or change at some point. My guess would be that most people are irritated by at least few words or phrases at some point in their life. Maybe for some, it only happens as they get older and they become more aware of language change over time. Having said that, the teenagers I work with are horrified by the use of the word ‘cool’, so I think it’s something that probably happens at all stages of life.

I mentioned above about finding ‘picky bits’ annoying because it’s an example of infantilising language that I think women (and I include myself in this) are conditioned in to engage in minimise themselves.

Having read your post, I also think that it’s because ‘picky’ and ‘pick at’ often have negative connotations; for example ‘don’t be picky’, ‘don’t pick at your food’ or ‘don’t pick at that scab’ (the latter is an image that always comes to my mind when people talk about picking at food!).

Lastly, ‘picky’ as an adjective in ‘picky tea’ does not make grammatical sense. The tea itself is non-living and therefore cannot be picky; it’s possibly the humans who are being ‘picky’ but even that’s arguably questionable because picky has traditionally conveyed an idea of being choosy and picking some things while leaving others. In my experience, when people say ‘picky tea’ they usually mean they’ve chosen multiple small things that they like and many people will probably have some of everything. In that situation they are, in fact, being the opposite of picky.

I now have an image of you and your family like little scavenging meerkat type creatures picking away at scraps and bits of leftovers. It's quite endearing! And yes of course you should use any words you like. But obviously by the same token it's good you aren't offended by people feeling sick when you do!

Seasonal home decor is nuts…in your opinion. I quite like it and will leave my Autumn gonk sitting happily in my porch until he gets changed for Halloween and then again for Christmas.

Just find it odd how annoyed some people get over harmless decisions made by people they’ve never met, that will have no effect on them at all. I hate the judgemental world we live in at the moment. That annoys me way more than whether someone changes their cushions to match the seasons or has picky bits for tea!

😂😂

Take your point on the grammatical incorrectness. I teach, and it infuriates me when certain grammatical errors are made by children (and adults - including some I work with!)
But we’ll still be having picky teas - even though I now realise that makes me a bit of a grammar police hypocrite😂