fly in the face of

Idioms  

1. Also, fly in the teeth of. Act in direct opposition to or defiance of. For example, This decision flies in the face of all precedent, or They went out without permission, flying in the teeth of house rules. This metaphoric expression alludes to a physical attack. [Mid-1500s]

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Example Sentences

It flies in the face of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, negotiated by the British and Irish governments, brokered by the U.S. and supported by the Irish people.

From The Wall Street Journal

"So much of my dad's story and how he got away was cover-up and deception, but I want to fly in the face of that and bring things into the light."

From BBC

That move “seemed to fly in the face of market forecasts” but hasn’t, as of yet, led to a “collapse” in oil prices, he said.

From MarketWatch

That flies in the face of the traditional advice to delay Social Security as long as possible, until age 70 if you can.

From The Wall Street Journal

This backsliding flies in the face of how much progress has been made to stop people from dying needlessly.

From Salon

Related Words

• abandon
• break with
• disavow
• dismiss
• disown
• forsake
• recant
• renounce
• repeal
• rescind
• retract
• reverse
• revoke
• spurn