Rate this phrase:3.0 / 1 vote

against the grain

Contrary to what is expected; especially, of behavior different from what society expects.
37 Views

Submitted on September 11, 2009

Additional definitions for 'against the grain':

against the grainTo 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.
against the grainUnwillingly, reluctantly. It went much against the grain with him, i.e. it was much against his inclination, or against his pluck.
See them all »

Translation

Find a translation for the against the grain phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to against the grain

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this against the grain phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this against the grain definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "against the grain." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/against-the-grain_1902>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    _______ his lips with anticipation.
    A tensing
    B biting
    C pursing
    D licking

    Browse Phrases.com