Here’s a translation of these various bêtes noires and why any one of them can ruin a commuter’s day.

Do train tracks really get slippery in Autumn?

Monday through Thursday, New Jersey Transit said its train service could be delayed by as much as 30 minutes because of rails made slippery by fallen leaves. The agency said this is an “age-old” problem that affects all railroads in the Northeast in the fall.

Indeed, commuter railroads from Boston to Philadelphia were citing slippery rails as a cause of delays this week. Slippery tracks were blamed for railroad delays even in England this week.