cross-grained
/'krɔsgreind/
Definition
- Adjective:
- Having an irregular grain structure: Used to describe timber or wood where the fibers run in an irregular, non-parallel, or diagonal pattern, making it difficult to work with.
- Difficult to deal with; contrary: Used figuratively to describe a person who is stubborn, irritable, or perversely uncooperative.
Usage and Examples
Describing wood:
- The carpenter avoided the cross-grained oak because it was hard to plane smoothly.
- Cross-grained timber is more prone to splitting.
Describing a person's character:
- The negotiations stalled because of the cross-grained attitude of one delegate.
- He's a brilliant but cross-grained individual who often argues for the sake of it.
Advanced Usage
- Technical/Figurative Blend: The term can be used in a metaphorical sense that directly alludes to the woodworking meaning, implying inherent difficulty.
- Her cross-grained logic was as hard to follow as cutting against the grain of knotted wood.
Variants and Related Words
- Contrary (adj): Perversely inclined to disagree or oppose.
- Perverse (adj): Showing a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave unacceptably.
- Cantankerous (adj): Bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative.
- Interlocked grain (n): A specific type of irregular grain pattern in wood.
Synonyms
- Stubborn
- Obstinate
- Intractable
- Irascible
- Gnarled (when referring specifically to wood texture)
Notes on Meaning
The term effectively bridges a concrete, physical property (of wood) and an abstract human characteristic. The figurative meaning derives directly from the difficulty of working with such wood—it does not yield easily to tools, just as a cross-grained person does not yield easily in argument or cooperation.
Adjective
-
of timber; having fibers running irregularly rather than in parallel
-
difficult to deal with
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