English
Pronunciation
IPA: /�'gεnst ð� greɪn/
Etymology
Popularized by wikipedia:William Shakespeare|William Shakespeare in the play wikipedia:Coriolanus (play)|Coriolanus. This figurative has literal origins in woodworking, where carving against the grain is undesirable because the resulting surface is not smooth.
Idiom
against the grain
#idiom Contrary to what is expected; especially, of behavior different from what society expects.
#: By going against the grain and going to work nude, you've made yourself a laughing stock.''
- To sand or plane a piece of wood parallel or nearly parallel to the fibers such that splinters forming ahead of the tool originate below the cutting surface
- Unwilling. It went much against the grain with him, i.e. it was much against his inclination, or against his pluck.
See: wikipedia: plane (tool)
Quotations
1608<br>
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