frequently_asked_questions_files/Oxford Thesaurus.pdf

peerage, Colloq Brit royals: It is ironic that Americans are
more impressed than the British with royalty.
18.6 rub...
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rub v. 1 massage, knead, stroke; scour, scrub, scrape, abrade,
chafe, clean; wipe, smooth, polish, shine, buff, burnish: Rub
my back, would you? - Not there, a little lower down. You are
not supposed to rub those plastic baths with abrasive cleansers.
Before the guests arrived, we rubbed the silver till you could
see yourself in it. 2 rub in or on. apply, smooth, smear,
spread, put: The ache may be relieved a bit if you rub on some
liniment. 3 rub (it or something) in. emphasize, stress, make
an issue of, harp on, reiterate, dwell on, hammer away,
dramatize: It's bad enough that Caroline did better than I did
- you don't have to keep rubbing it in. 4 rub off or out.
expunge, erase, remove, delete, cancel, eliminate, eradicate:
It's a pity, Peter, that you rubbed out the right reply and
wrote in the wrong one. The boys were released on the condition
that they would rub the graffiti off the wall. 5 rub off (on).
affect, be transferred (to), be communicated or transmitted
(to), be passed on or along (to), be imparted to: Your mother
and I had hoped that some of our love of music might have rubbed
off on you. 6 rub out. murder, kill, execute, slay: The
Godfather ordered all witnesses to be rubbed out. 7 rub
shoulders with. rub elbows with, associate with, socialize with,
mix with, fraternize with, keep company with, consort with,
Colloq US run or pal or chum around with: Since getting his
knighthood Charles no longer rubs shoulders with the likes of
us. 8 rub (someone) (up) the wrong way. annoy, irritate, irk,
anger, provoke, go against the grain, Colloq bug, get under
one's or someone's skin, peeve: I don't know what it is about
Underbridge, but every time we meet he manages to rub me up the
wrong way.
--n. 9 wipe, stroke, rubbing: You will have to give that stain
a good rub to make it come out. 10 massage, rub-down: After
exercising, Jane always has an alcohol rub. 11 the rub. the or
a catch or hitch or snag or hindrance or set-back, the or an
obstacle or impediment, the or a difficulty or problem or
trouble: The only rub I can see is that Warren may not agree to