go against the grain

Cultural

To go contrary to someone's natural disposition: “Having to get up this early in the morning really goes against my grain.” This refers to the fact that someone who rubs his hand against the grain on a piece of lumber will get splinters.

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.

But I am going to go against the grain here.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

Many of our best picks resulted from a willingness to go against the grain with out-of-favor stocks—and impeccable timing.

From Barron's • Jan. 29, 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

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

It may go against the grain at first to associate with such cads as Chad and his crowd; but perhaps that'll wear away in time, and I may come to enjoy what I now abhor.

From We Ten Or, The Story of the Roses by Yechton, Barbara, [pseud.]

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023