rub the wrong way
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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.
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Words nearby rub the wrong way
rubricated, rubrician, rubrum lily, rub someone's nose in it, rubstone, rub the wrong way, Rubtsovsk, rub up, rub up on, ruby, ruby-crowned kinglet
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.