abrasive

\uh-BRAY-siv\

adjective

1 : tending to wear away by rubbing

2 : causing irritation

I confess to using the term ABRASIVE most often in reference to personality. While the word may convey a general sense of ABRASION, or rather, being "rubbed the wrong way," there is a subjective element as well. Interacting with someone whose personality feels like the social equivalent of wiping my ass with the edge of the sidewalk may very well feel like kitten fur to someone else. It's all relative, I suppose.

A list of things I find ABRASIVE:

Being forced into a game of devil's advocate with someone who hasn't yet earned their right to play.

Almost any tag in any shirt, ever.

Ambulance sirens, specifically when the sound is approaching.

Walking barefoot in the city street.

Hearing about some variety of sexual disfunction from someone who I really don't want to think about in the context of sexual activity.

Newborn babies crying.

Wearing tights that are too big (I should have listened to the salesgirl who told me to buy the xs/sm. The other girl just sounded more sure, trustworthy. I was a poor judge of character that day).

Most jokes.

Most bullies.

Most people who spend their Saturday nights at the Dixie.

I'll stop now, before the list broadens into the universality of enjoying walks on the beach.