Meaning & use
kick against pricks
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Meanings
phraseidiomliteraryold-fashioned
to fight or complain about something you cannot change, and so only hurt yourself.
Grammar: Used as a whole phrase, usually after 'to' or as the -ing form 'kicking against pricks'; it takes no object of its own.
Patterns
- kick against pricks
- be kicking against pricks
- it is no use kicking against pricks
He keeps arguing with the new rules, but he is only kicking against pricks.
She knew that complaining to the committee was kicking against pricks, so she stayed quiet.
Trying to change your father's mind on this is kicking against pricks.
phraseidiomreligionliterary
used to say that resisting God's will or a powerful authority brings you pain, not gain.
Grammar: A fixed phrase; it appears mainly in writing about religion or fate, often after 'like' or 'as if'.
Patterns
- like kicking against pricks
- as if kicking against pricks
In the sermon he warned the congregation that such rebellion was like kicking against pricks.
The old story shows a man who suffers because he keeps kicking against pricks.
Common combinations
- be only kicking against pricks
- You can protest all you like, but you are only kicking against pricks.
- it is no use kicking against pricks
- It is no use kicking against pricks; the decision has already been made.
- keep kicking against pricks
- If you keep kicking against pricks, you will just wear yourself out.
- like kicking against pricks
- Fighting the court's ruling felt like kicking against pricks.
- stop kicking against pricks
- He finally stopped kicking against pricks and accepted the job he was offered.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fight a losing battle
- This is the everyday phrase for the same idea and sounds natural in speech, while 'kick against pricks' sounds old and literary.
- bang your head against a brick wall
- Informal and vivid; it stresses frustration rather than the pain of resisting a higher power.
- resist
- A plain verb meaning to push back against something; it lacks the warning that the effort will hurt you.
Opposites
Commonly confused: kick against pricks or kick against the pricks? kick against pricks or kick against?
kick against pricks vs kick against the pricks
Some older translations use 'the pricks'; the version without 'the' is the usual modern form, and both mean the same thing.
kick against pricks vs kick against
On its own, 'kick against' simply means to oppose something, with no suggestion that you are hurting yourself.
Practice
Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Choose one answer.
The fixed form is 'kick against pricks', used for pointless resistance to something unchangeable, so option A fits. Option B changes the phrase and suggests a single event with one 'prick', while C and D break the fixed word order.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “kick against pricks”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.