against the grain
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Sense 1
Contrary to the natural inclination or feeling of someone.
trái với khuynh hướng hoặc cảm giác tự nhiên của ai đó
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Examples
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Sense 2
Unwilling. It went much against the grain with him, i.e. it was much against his inclination, or against his pluck.
Era: ca. 1811 (Georgian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, public domain; Project Gutenberg #5402, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Sense 3
in opposition to the wish. "It went AGAINST THE GRAIN to do it, but I knew I must," is a common expression.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “against the grain” mean?
Contrary to the natural inclination or feeling of someone.
Is “against the grain” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.