Go against the grain means acting against your own nature or against what everyone else does. It goes against the grain for me to leave a job half finished means it feels deeply wrong to me. Her quiet design went against the grain in a market full of bright colours. Grain is the direction of the fibres in wood: plane against them, and the board resists.
When would you say go against the grain?
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go against the grain; it goes against the grain to + verb
- It goes against the grain for me to leave a job half finished.
- Her quiet design went against the grain in a market full of bright colours.
- Asking for help went against the grain, but he knew he needed it.
What changed
First versionIt goes against the grains for her to accept work she cannot finish.
RevisionIt goes against the grain for her to accept work she cannot finish.
Grain is familiar as a seed of rice or wheat, and there are usually many, so the grains seems natural. But here grain is the direction of the wood fibres, and in the idiom it's always singular: against the grain. Drop the s.
Think outside the box means thinking creatively and finding something new. Go against the grain means acting differently from what's usual or expected, with no need for anything new. Break the rules means breaking rules, while you can go against habit without breaking anything.
Your turn
Complete the idiom for acting contrary to a usual preference: Leaving a job half finished goes ___ the grain for me.
Show the answer
against — Leaving a job half finished goes against your habit, so against. With the grain would mean following your usual way.
Describe something that was hard for you because it went against your habits or character. Use go against the grain.
Buying fewer things goes against the grain in a group that treats shopping as a weekend hobby.
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