kick against the pricks

present singular third person kicks against the pricks · participle present kicking against the pricks · participle past kicked against the pricks · past kicked against the pricks

1. To kick back (of an animal etc.) against being goaded.
2. figurativelyTo struggle against fate or authority.First known use 14th c.

   Near-synonym: kick over the traces

   4 more examples

   The lorde ſayd / I am Ieſus whom thou perſecuteſt / it ſhalbe harde for the to kycke agaĩſt the pricke.

   1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts ix:[5], folio clxvj, verso

   Paul was laid up with an attack of bronchitis. He did not mind much. What happened happened, and it was no good kicking against the pricks.

   1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “The Young Life of Paul”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC, part I, page 67

   The whirlwind is in the thorn tree / It’s hard for thee to kick against the pricks

   2002 November 5, Johnny Cash, “The Man Comes Around”, in American IV: The Man Comes Around (Compact Disc), performed by Johnny Cash, United States of America: American Recordings, →OCLC, 440 063 339-2

   Middle-class, indie-loving, media-savvy 18-40-year-olds in their tens of thousands joined Facebook groups, signed online petitions, added Twibbons, wrote letters of complaint and politely but efficiently kicked against the pricks.

   2010 December 8, Dan Hancox, The Guardian

   Synonyms: kick over the traces