Question: Brass bands were being discussed today which naturally led to someone claiming to be *brassed off* about something, meaning disgruntled or annoyed. Does anyone know the origin of this expression? Michael Quinion over at [World Wide Words](http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-bra2.htm) suggests the phrase may have arisen from the Royal Navy's use of cleaning brasswork as a punishment, but that doesn't seem altogether convincing.

Answer: 
"Top Brass" meant command, because of their brass insignia. "Brassed Off" might mean told off by military authority, in a slang sense.
Brassed off comes from the over cleaning of brass, with a rag and abrasive polish, which resulted in the brass being rubbed through to the base metal underneath the brass coating, and certainly a centaury before the nineteen thirty’s as some ‘experts’ suggest.