Science Fair Project Dictionary
Against the grain
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English
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ə'gεnst ðə greɪn/
Etymology
Popularized by William Shakespeare, in the play Coriolanus. This figurative has literal origins in woodworking , where carving against the grain is undesirable because the resulting surface is not smooth.
Idiom
- To go against what is expected of you
- To sand or plane a piece of wood parallel or nearly parallel to the fibers such that splinters forming ahead of the tool originate below the cutting surface
Quotations
- 1608
- Say, you chose him
- More after our commandment than as guided
- By your own true affections, and that your minds,
- Preoccupied with what you rather must do
- Than what you should, made you against the grain
- To voice him consul: lay the fault on us. - William Shakespeare, in Coriolanus
10-26-2009 07:45:12
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details