What is the origin of the phrase "rub the wrong way"?

Search: rubs me the wrong way origin

Why: John is speculating. Brian says it's from petting kitties, who bristle when you rub their fur tail-to-head.

Answer: From going against the grain of wood...? Maybe this is true, maybe:

It comes from the days of opulence when the well-to-do had lovely floors that were cleaned and scrubbed all the time by their servants to keep them spotless for the lady of the house.

If they went against the grain of the wood, this would lead to streaks on the floor, which for any self respecting well-to-do lady of the house, was something really rather frightful. Hence, it would be the case that they were "rubbed the wrong way."

Therefore, the phrase got adapted in general for anything that led to someone else being frustrated or annoyed and not getting on smoothly.

Source: Said What?

The More You Know: Or maybe it's the kitty thing, except Maddie likes to be scratchscrtchscrscrscrtchtched the wrong way. Can I put animated GIFs in here?

YES!!!