to go against the grain
8
7.4
- idiom
- /ɡoʊ əˈɡɛnst ðə ɡreɪn/
- Informal
:
ir contra la corriente
- Many successful entrepreneurs go against the grain by challenging conventional wisdom.
Still, though, you're going against the grain and you're at Columbia.
- Still, though, you're going against the grain and you're at Columbia.
- But it's like you're going against the grain trying to secure something rare.
- Is there any, any, any man that says this is the path that I'm taking and it might go against the grain and I'm OK with that.
- And if you look at any network and breakout shows, they were taking risks and going against the grain.
- And if you look at any network and break out shows, they were taking risks and going against the grain.
- And so, like, I write as a defence attorney, OK, I'm going to take something that would go against the grain of the audience.
- I started to notice that my intuition was always guiding me right when I was going against the grain, doing things that no one else thought were a good idea.
- I think don't be afraid to go against the grain and sort of challenge the expectations on you.
- It means literally going against the grain of what you want to do, especially if you are empathic.
- Just like a lot of lentils, like high carb foods, which was kind of going against the grain too.
- He and have his own very strong opinions, and sometimes they strongly go against the grain.
Examples
-
I think you are so brave to do something that goes against the grain of our culture.
Blog text (30) -
I would say that such questions set up a false dichotomy that goes against the grain of Catholicism, which has always taken a "both-and" approach.
Academic text (2015) -
For Britain, it seems to go against the grain.
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And they say nothing comes from going against the grain.
-
I guess I was kind of scared going against the grain.
Fiction book (2000) -
This is totally remarkable stuff because it goes against the grain of the way one would like to think about it.
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So there are solutions and people are trying to have them implemented, but it goes against the grain of society.
-
In life, I have learned that you must go against the grain and take some very unpopular stances.
Blog text (30) -
If you're a creature of habit like me, then doing things differently goes against the grain.
Blog text (24) -
I started to notice that my intuition was always guiding me right when I was going against the grain, doing things that no one else thought were a good idea.
Synonyms
8
5.3
To do something in a new way instead of the usual way
3
6.9
To do something different from what most people do
1
9.9
To act on your own against what the group expects
Different from what people expect in behavior or ideas
Antonyms
How Unusual
48
4.1
- Informal
8
7.4
3
8.2
55
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb phrase 'go against' clearly signals opposition, so a learner who knows those words could infer the expression involves acting contrary to something; however, the noun 'grain' is used metaphorically here (natural tendency/habit) rather than its common concrete senses (seed, wood grain). Because understanding the overall meaning depends on recognizing that metaphorical sense of 'grain', which may not be obvious to a B1 learner, the expression is only partially predictable.
Etymology
The idiom go against the grain comes from working with wood: when you cut or smooth wood the wrong way, against the direction of the grain, the wood splinters and the job is much harder. So, the phrase means 'to do something that is very different from what is usual or normal'.