Meaning & use
kick against the pricks
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Meaning
phraseidiomliteraryold-fashioned
to keep resisting something powerful that you cannot change, and suffer because of it
Grammar: Used as an intransitive verb phrase; it does not take an object. You can say 'He kicked against the pricks' but not 'He kicked against the pricks the system'.
Patterns
- kick against the pricks
- be kicking against the pricks
She kept arguing with the strict new rules, but she was only kicking against the pricks.
Trying to change the company's decision now is just kicking against the pricks.
The villagers kicked against the pricks for years before they finally accepted the dam would be built.
Common combinations
- kick against the pricks
- He was warned that complaining to the board would be kicking against the pricks.
- only kicking against the pricks
- You're only kicking against the pricks if you think you can change her mind.
- keep kicking against the pricks
- The union kept kicking against the pricks, but the factory still closed.
- be like kicking against the pricks
- Arguing with the referee was like kicking against the pricks.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fight a losing battle
- This is the everyday equivalent; it suggests a struggle that is already doomed, while 'kick against the pricks' emphasizes the pain you cause yourself by resisting.
- bang your head against a brick wall
- This informal phrase focuses on frustration and wasted effort, whereas 'kick against the pricks' has a more literary, fatalistic tone.
- resist
- A plain verb meaning to oppose something; it lacks the image of self-inflicted suffering in 'kick against the pricks'.
Opposites
Commonly confused: kick against the pricks or kick against?
kick against the pricks vs kick against
This is a literal phrasal verb meaning to hit something with your foot, or to oppose something in general. 'Kick against the pricks' is a fixed idiom and is not used for physical kicking.
Practice
Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Choose one answer.
The idiom is intransitive and means to resist something unchangeable, so 'kicking against the pricks by trying to change the weather' fits. Option 0 is wrong because 'accept' contradicts the meaning of resistance. Option 1 is wrong because the idiom does not take a direct object. Option 3 is wrong because the idiom is not used for literal physical kicking.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “kick against the pricks”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.