The Perils of the Alphabet
Dr. Weston is convinced that the pedagogue is the culprit. Since 
teachers seat their pupils in alphabetically order, the S's to Z's 
child is usually the last to receive his test mark, the last to eat lunch, 
the last to be dismissed, and so on. As they are the last to recite,
they youngsters fell frustrated because what they had to do had 
usually been enunciated earlier. The inordinate amount of waiting
which this group has to do causes them become irascible and jittery.
S's to Z's people usually become quite introspective,
convinced that they are inferior to those at the top of alphabet.

to get one's back up--Every time his mother mentioned getting a
haircut, the young guitarist got his back up.
(to become angry.)