go against the grain
Defy the norm
To go against the grain is to act contrary to what is natural, expected, or preferred.
The phrase comes from woodworking—cutting against the grain of wood is harder and produces rough results.
Applied to people, it describes resisting convention or doing things the difficult way: It goes against the grain for her to ask for help.
Something that goes against the grain feels instinctively wrong or uncomfortable.
- run counterOppose or conflict with
- swim upstreamPropel against flowing water
- buck the trendAct contrary to prevailing direction
- contradictDispute a statement
- contrarianismOpposing prevailing views systematically
individualism · march to a different drummer · free-thinking · rebel · conflict · nonconformity · break the mold · unorthodoxy · clash · counter · unconventionality · think outside the box · skepticism · rock the boat · questioning · subversion · iconoclasm · authenticity
- making troublemake waves, stir the pot, raise Cain, kick up a fuss, upset the apple cart
- disruptorsUber, disruptor, Airbnb, disruption, Netflix
go against the grainconform
Behave as expected
follow the crowd · go with the flow · toe the line · fall in line · fit in
going, against, grain, grains, grained, grainy, graininess, granule, granular