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rub the wrong way

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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

rub somebody the wrong way

to annoy someone He was known as a moody and selfish player who rubbed teammates the wrong way.

Etymology: based on the idea that if you rub the wrong way on a cat's fur, you annoy it

See also: rub, way, wrong

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

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