fly in the face of

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]

Example Sentences

And so many of us are flying in the face of it, so I’m not really worried about that.

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Related: ‘This flies in the face of my morals and ethics’: My father cut my sisters out of his six-figure estate.

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It also flies in the face of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ guidance on abortion care.

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The bumper financial figures fly in the face of grumblings over the current economic backdrop, tough business environment, and household cutbacks on the types of big, one-off purchases Roberts' firm sells.

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Gen. Rob Bonta said the latest funding reduction — which the states were notified of over the weekend — flew in the face of last week’s ruling.

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Related Words

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