What it means
Means something really annoys you, usually in a slow, nagging way that keeps looping in your head. It’s a mechanical metaphor, like a gearbox being chewed up, and it got a massive boost from Family Guy, where Peter says it whenever he’s wound up. Works for petty stuff and bigger injustices.
Usage examples
"Every time the bloke in front cuts across three lanes to hit the M6 exit, it proper grinds my gears, mate."
"It really grinds my gears when people stand on the left of the escalator and block everyone behind them."
"What grinds my gears is the tiny print on contracts that nobody is ever actually meant to read."
"It really grinds my gears when apps make you reset your password, then tell you the new one can’t match the last twelve."
"You know what grinds my gears? People who start voice-noting in public with the speaker blasting like the whole bus asked for a podcast."
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Where it comes from
It comes from the older image of machine gears grinding when they don't mesh right, all noise, friction, and ugly resistance. The wording was already around in English before pop culture got hold of it, but Family Guy blasted it into everyday slang with Peter Griffin's recurring What really grinds my gears? bit.
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