Everyone has a pet peeve. If you're like me, you might have a lot several. One of the biggest for me, though, is anxious versus eager. People use the two synonymously, and they are far from the same. Someone I used to know very well said that he "is getting anxious to meet his baby girl." I know this guy. He's not anxious. He's eager.

Merriam Webster defines anxious as "extreme uneasiness of mind or brooding fear about some contingency." Conversely, the dictionary outlines eager as "marked by an enthusiastic or impatient desire or interest."

Sure, there are times when you might be able to interchange the two of them. Perhaps you are both anxious and eager about an upcoming event. I understand this. However, it drives me absolutely batty when people say that they are eager when they are anxious and anxious when they are eager.

Say what you mean, people, and mean what you say.