I'll add to what the others have said with an example. The scenario at the start of the article is an example of passive aggression, but it's quite subtle and n

I'll add to what the others have said with an example. The scenario at the start of the article is an example of passive aggression, but it's quite subtle and not explained until later on. Jim has made the effort of cooking pasta for him and Aaron. Carbonara in particular deteriorates quite quickly, so after 10 minutes it won't be very good. We see from the story that Aaron is stuck on the phone with work, and once he finally breaks free, the pasta is spoiled and Jim rather annoyed. Where's the passive aggression? Later on, the article hints that before this played out, Aaron was annoyed at Jim. He intentionally spoiled the dinner (e.g disrespecting the effort Jim invested) by staying on the phone, but because he pretended to be unable to avoid the call it's passive — he can claim not to have spoiled it intentionally. In contrast, it would be regular aggression if he'd thrown the pasta into the sink.