kick against the pricks

Biblical phrase; see citation below.

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kick against the pricks (third-person singular simple present kicks against the pricks, present participle kicking against the pricks, simple past and past participle kicked against the pricks)

1. (idiomatic) To kick back (of an animal etc.) against being goaded.
2. (idiomatic, figuratively) To struggle against one's fate. [from 14th c.]
   • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts ix:[5], folio clxvj, verso:

     The lorde ſayd / I am Ieſus whom thou perſecuteſt / it ſhalbe harde for the to kycke agaĩſt the pricke.

   • 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “The Young Life of Paul”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC, part I, page 67:

     Paul was laid up with an attack of bronchitis. He did not mind much. What happened happened, and it was no good kicking against the pricks.

   • 2010 December 8, Dan Hancox, The Guardian:

     Middle-class, indie-loving, media-savvy 18-40-year-olds in their tens of thousands joined Facebook groups, signed online petitions, added Twibbons, wrote letters of complaint and politely but efficiently kicked against the pricks.