The phrase “to rub someone the wrong way” is commonly used today to mean “to irritate someone” or “to act in a manner that annoys or angers someone.” It actually dates back to the colonial era in America. Well-to-do families would construct opulent homes, complete with high-end wooden floors. The floorboards were made of expensive oak, and they needed to be cleaned in a very careful manner. Sometimes, when the maids scrubbed the floors, they wouldn’t follow the process outlined to them by their mistresses, and this would leave permanent ugly marks on the floors. This would annoy the mistresses, and it would often invite serious punishment.
The phrase, “to rub the wrong way” started out in reference to wood floors, but over time, its origin was forgotten, and it became purely metaphorical.
Explanation: Fans of the western sky after sunset have lately enjoyed this month’s remarkable array of bright planets. Witnessed from some locations, on February 18 planet Mercury even appeared to slide behind the Moon, an event known as a lunar occultation. These two snapshots, taken in early evening skies show before and after telescopic views of the rare disappearance of innermost planet behind young Moon. The top panel finds bright Mercury just visible at the northern (right) edge of the earthshine-illuminated lunar disk. In the bottom panel the bright planet has emerged in darker skies beyond the Moon’s sunlit crescent. As seen south of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, planet Earth, this lunar occultation of Mercury lasted only about 3 minutes (video). But you can still check out a parade of planets tonight.
