rub the wrong way, to
rub someone('s fur) the wrong way
Fig. to irritate someone. I'm sorry I rubbed your fur the wrong way. I didn't mean to upset you. Don't rub her the wrong way!
See also: rub, way, wrong
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
rub the wrong way
Irritate, annoy, as in His remarks about welfare rubbed a great many people the wrong way. This idiom alludes to rubbing an animal's fur in the wrong direction. [Mid-1800s] Also see ruffle someone's feathers.
See also: rub, way, wrong
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
rub (someone) the wrong way
To annoy; irritate: "One can see ... how [his] expression of his ideals and intentions must have rubbed many people the wrong way" (Christopher Lehmann-Haupt).
See also: rub, way, wrong
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
rub the wrong way, to
To annoy. This expression transfers rubbing a cat’s fur in the wrong direction to irritating a human being. (See also against the grain.) The British locution is to rub someone up the wrong way and dates from the mid-nineteenth century. “Don’t rub her prejudices up the wrong way,” wrote H. Aïdé (Carr of Carrlyou, 1862).
See also: rub, wrong
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- rubbing
- be in the wrong
- in the wrong
- in the wrong box
- pinned
- rub up
- not put a foot wrong
- not/never put/set a foot wrong
- rubbed off
- rub (oneself) off