From an article about a defeated former president’s tax returns. Neal is Richard Neal, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee:
Throughout the process, Neal’s more cautious approach to his investigation has grated some of his more progressive colleagues.Grate, “to cause irritation,” is an intransitive verb. Grating one’s colleagues would be both transitive and uncollegial.
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comments: 5
The Merriam-Webster entry you linked to say that "grate" is also a transitive verb that can mean "fret, irrirate." Wouldn't that definition make Bloomberg's use proper? Or am I wrong (quite possible)?
Even better with the meaning that immediately comes to mind in British English, which is to shred into small slivers (as in grated cheese) :)
Jay, I have to admit that I read right past that. The OED has this intransitive meaning: “figurative. To affect painfully, as if by abrasion; to fret, harass, irritate. Now rare.” I’m not familiar with grate being used in that way, though I can see from a quick search for “it grates me” that this use has some currency. I wonder if it’s coming back as a slang form. At any rate, the absence of on here struck me as pretty glaring. Google’s Ngram Viewer shows “grates me” peaking in the early twentieth century. In 2000, “grates on me” is about 5.4 times more common.
Richard, that’s just what I was thinking of — tiny bits.
Thanks, Michael. So the takeaway seems to be that if you're thinking of saying, "He grates (i.e., irritates) me," it would be more idiomatic--if not more standard--to say, "He grates on me."
I would say so, yes. I think the Ngrams carry weight with this kind of choice.
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