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.
This could be many things. As the article says, it could be as simple as procrastination.
It could also be something more insidious, like Bob works late every evening, so Sally forgets to feed Bob's dog in the morning.
Passive: Uh, your code looks great! Aggressive: Your code is garbage! Assertive: Your code is broken. Passive-Aggressive: It's great that you think your garbage code is great!
I love how you can just wear anything.
Which is a subtle way to say your clothes are trash and I wouldn’t be caught dead with those even in the same room as me.
You’re slagging the listener while sounding like you’re giving a complement.