Language-related Gripe
In my younger days, I used to pass through word trends - words that I use and reuse constantly, because they have latched themselves onto the immediate surface of my mind's language pool. If constructing essays is like filling a cup with water, this defect of mine might be likened to filling the cup with old, used bathwater - and I would always scoop from the top, instead of stirring the water around.
Consequently, my essays were frequently peppered with repetition. Some time ago (probably when I first learnt them) I became particularly attached to "pristine" and "coalescent". Later on, I filled my cup with "profundity" and "flagrant"; still later, "coruscating", "ersatz" and "endemic" were my linguistic bathwater whores.
As I grew older, I learnt to stir the water around, and occasionally, even let out some of the water and run a newish bath. My essays and spoken English improved tremendously, and I was a happy bunny.
My gripe is this. It's words like "OK", "like" and "you know" that stick to the walls of the bath. They are linguistic bath scum, and no matter how much I re-run the bath, I can't stop, like, using them. You know? OK.