"How tiresome of you both to come and interrupt," said Nora in her crossest tone.
He was the crossest, surliest old fellow I ever saw in all my life.
But that was the very thing that made me crossest about her carelessness.
Now nine is the crossest of all cross numbers, and full to the lip of all crochets.
They live, you see, right on the high road, and see human nature at its hottest and crossest as well as its most dishonest.
Father said that he could remember when they brought the bears home, growling, snarling—the crossest little things he ever saw.
Henry Ashley met them as they entered, and began upon them in his crossest tones.
I like that truth about a good dinner 'availing' to secure peace, and the advice to 'caress' your bear when he is at his crossest.
I cannot take you with me, because my aunt is the crossest woman alive, and never liked young people.
When the sheriff read it, even his wife thought best to slip away, for he was the crossest man in Nottingham.
"ill-tempered," 1630s, probably from 16c. sense of "contrary, athwart," especially with reference to winds and sailing ships, from cross (n.). Cross-purposes "contradictory intentions" is from 1660s.
Old English cros (mid-10c.), from Old Irish cros, probably via Scandinavian, from Latin crux (accusative crucem, genitive crucis) "stake, cross" on which criminals were impaled or hanged, hence, figuratively, "torture, trouble, misery;" originally a tall, round pole; possibly of Phoenician origin. Replaced Old English rood. Also from Latin crux are Italian croce, French croix, Spanish and Portuguese cruz, Dutch kruis, German Kreuz.
c.1200, "make the sign of a cross," from cross (n.). Sense of "to go across" is from c.1400; that of "to cancel by drawing lines over" is from mid-15c. Related: Crossed; crossing.