Skip to main content

Rub the wrong way


Today's phrase comes from the literal rubbing of a cat. Apparently there is a way to do it and way not to do it. And when you do it the wrong way apparently you know. (source)

Today we use it to indicate that someone has upset or irritated us...greatly. 









Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Butter someone up

There are two probable origins for this idiom and I think both are equally plausible. The first one is that when you spread butter on bread you are buttering it up like one would do when trying to flatter someone. The second is in ancient India there was a practice of throwing balls of butter at statues to ask for favor, i.e. buttering them up. ( source ) When we use the phrase today we generally mean that extreme flattery is used to gain information or favor. It's not always necessarily a compliment. 
Post a Comment
Read more

Call it a Day

The literal use of this phrase hails from 1838 when the phrase originally was "call it half a day" to mean leaving work early. (source) The modern use of the phrase is to indicate ending something due to false sense of accomplishment. 
Post a Comment
Read more

More bang for your buck

This phrase was used a lot in 1953 but an earlier citation puts it at 1940 in a Metals and Plastics Publications advertisement. Read about it here . The phrase means you get more for your money.
Post a Comment
Read more