go against the grain

1. 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

David Murdoch: Going to go against the grain here and say this tie isn't over.

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“That’s not how people behaved. But to see the beginnings of that kind of progress, to not maintain racial segregation in business — obviously, they wanted to make money from this large building, but they were also willing to go against the grain.”

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That willingness to go against the grain, to share the space regardless of race, created the conditions for Washington Hall to mean a whole lot to a whole lot of people — long after the Danish Brotherhood had left.

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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.

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In vowing to push back, Cameron said: “You need somebody that is willing to go against the grain of the far-left and the environmentalists that are trying to destroy our fossil fuels industry.”

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