Rubbed up

Posted by Bob on May 21, 2005

In Reply to: Rubbed up posted by Smokey Stover on May 20, 2005

: : : : I would like to know the meaning of the phrases 'rubbing somebody up the wrong way', 'Bold as Brass' and 'Brassed Off'. Any help would be appreciated.

: : : I always think of a cat...

: : : RUBS THE WRONG WAY - Annoys. "It is what happens when one's hair is rubbed backward (it may feel good at first, but it can become annoying and uncomfortable) or when you rub a plane against the grain of wood. Charles Hamilton Aide offered the figurative meaning in 'Carr of Carriyon' : 'Don't rub her prejudices up the wrong way.if you can help it.'" The Dictionary of Cliches by James Rogers (Wings Books, Originally New York: Facts on File Publications, 1985).

: : Rub the wrong way. Of course it means to irritate, to cause resentment. But why? I don't think it has much to do with static electricity except perhaps indirectly. If you rub a cat's fur, or that of many other animals, against its natural lie, the cat may exhibit a bit of resentment. I don't think it's because of electricity. But I do believe that our ancestors noticed what happens when you stroke an animal à rebours. I haven't heard it used in direct reference to the grain of wood.

: : Sometimes the phrase is written with "up," that is, "rub up the wrong way." I don't know if this is an anglicism, but I've never heard it spoken that way in the U.S.

: : Rub up, without "the wrong way," seems to have two meanings. One is "to revive or bring up a memory." British? The one that I've heard means to cultivate, figuratively, as in "he knows how to rub up the boss." Perhaps this, too, derives from our observant ancestors who knew that cats and goats and many other creatures like to rub favored people (and others of their kind) with their heads. Or maybe it comes from the fact that most people like a good massage. (Incidentally, the current theory is that the cat rubs you with its head to mark you with its scent, thus establishing a sort of ownership.)

: : Brassed off. OED: "disgruntled, 'fed up', 'browned off'. slang (orig. Services')." This apparently originated with the British armed forces; the first OED citation is from 1941. It remains an English favourite, heard rarely in the U.S. except from the mouths of foreigners.

: : Bold as brass. Brazen, very bold. Also used adverbially. Perhaps because the copper in brass makes it bright and shiny and conspicuous compared to baser metals. SS

: Nowadays people are less likely to rub up the boss than to stroke him. And since most of us like to be stroked, it may be that there are people in your life who will regard you more favorably if you stroke them judiciously. SS

"Brassed Off" was a good little movie, but until I saw it, I never heard the phrase spoken in the US. I needed a few translations for bits of the dialog, too. A Sheffield-to-Chicago Dictionary would have come in handy.