Wellllll, it’s not really a [I]knitting[/I] term, but it’s used a lot by people who knit.
Basic top-down top pattern?
So don’t leave us all in suspense. What does it mean?
Pain in the A…
It’s a phrase that describes me to a T! 
That’s not to say that suzeeq used it in reference to me. She didn’t. Just don’t want any misconstrued interpretations here.
So anyhow, I’ve stopped increasing for the front of the sweater and now it’s just one row after another of stockinette 
for a while, I won’t be such a PITA till I get to putting the sleeve stitches on holders. Unless I realize I really made a mess of the neckline and have to figure out how to correct it. :shrug:
Not knowing how long it will end up being I decided to pick up and knit the front bands because then I should have a better idea of the spacing for the buttonholes. If I get tired of working on it maybe it will be a really, really short sweater. 
Oh no, you haven’t been the pita and I don’t anticipate you being one. Working the buttonbands separately and sewing them would be though. For most people, some wouldn’t mind…
The cardigan sweater I just posted on Whatcha Knitting is a simple top down from Pure and Simple. No seams at all!!!
Just a word of caution with the Knitting Fool generator. I used this for a baby sweater and it turned out a bit large even with the snug size. They might take into account wearing ease. You can start out with this pattern and take measurements as you go. This would be from seam to seam across the back. Multiply it by two for total chest measurement. If it might be large, eliminate one or two of the last increase sets the pattern calls for and knit it straight after that. The illustration showing the percentages was a great help. You could try making a baby or doll sweater to see how this turns out before you do a large project with good yarn, if you’ve never done top down sweaters before.