go against the grain
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"It's because these films are so beautiful, so unique and so strong that they sometimes go against the grain," said Binoche.
From Barron's • Feb. 15, 2026
We should nurture them as an occasionally irresponsible group that can go against the grain of society and pronounce hard truths.
From Salon • Nov. 1, 2025
The leaders of the so-called men's conferences have been polygamists - seen by some as people who go against the grain, against societal pressures, to do what they want to do.
From BBC • Feb. 14, 2024
But that would go against the grain for Thomas Bach, the IOC president whose fencing career was hurt by a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games after the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 24, 2023
He couldn't disgorge, being in the predicament of the boa-constrictor who swallows a hen head first, and finds her go against the grain when he would fain reconsider the subject.
From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science October, 1877. Vol XX - No. 118 by Various
