A pet peeve or pet aversion is a minor annoyance that an individual identifies as particularly annoying to himself, to a greater degree than others may find.
Its first usage was around 1919. The term is a back-formation from the 14th-century word peevish, meaning "ornery or ill-tempered".
Pet peeves often involve specific behaviours of someone close, such as a spouse or significant other. These behaviours may involve disrespect, manners, personal hygiene, relationships and family issues.
A key aspect of a pet peeve is that it may well seem acceptable to others. For example, a supervisor may have a pet peeve about people leaving the lid on the copier up and react angrily, be annoyed when others interrupt when speaking, or be upset by messy desks of their subordinates. To most people, these may seem minor annoyances, but not to the supervisor. That same supervisor may witness employees coming into work late and not feel any annoyance whatsoever.