Bill D - I don't think this thread would have been as long or as interesting if I had just called it "Things that annoy you". Secondly, I know many people like learning about other people's colloquialisms (I know I do) and they ain't gonna learn about 'em if nobody uses them. I find that using interesting phases piques people's curiosity and can get all sorts of interesting conversations going.

Also, it was about the connotations of the phrase. It was a light hearted title to reflect a light-hearted topic. And the phrase 'knickers in a twist' implies that it is trivial things we get annoyed about, that we know are not really important, but get us riled up anyway.

Bagpuss (perhaps I have annoyed all sorts of people for choosing a handle that not everyone understands, but I don't care, cos people can always ask)