to kick against the pricks
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To protest when all the odds are against one; to struggle against overwhelming opposition.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to kick against the pricks” mean?
To protest when all the odds are against one; to struggle against overwhelming opposition.
Is “to kick against the pricks” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.