"kick against the pricks" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "Biblical phrase; see citation below.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "kicks against the pricks",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kicking against the pricks",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kicked against the pricks",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kicked against the pricks",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "head": "kick against the pricks"
      },
      "expansion": "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)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "65 35",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "77 23",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "81 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "86 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "77 23",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "77 23",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To kick back (of an animal etc.) against being goaded."
      ],
      "id": "en-kick_against_the_pricks-en-verb-~uc2oAOu",
      "links": [
        [
          "goad",
          "goad"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Near-synonym: kick over the traces"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts ix:[5], folio clxvj, verso:",
          "text": "The lorde ſayd / I am Ieſus whom thou perſecuteſt / it ſhalbe harde for the to kycke agaĩſt the pricke.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “The Young Life of Paul”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC, part I, page 67:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2002 November 5, Johnny Cash (lyrics and music), “The Man Comes Around”, in American IV: The Man Comes Around (Compact Disc), performed by Johnny Cash, United States of America: American Recordings, →OCLC, 440 063 339-2:",
          "text": "The whirlwind is in the thorn tree / It’s hard for thee to kick against the pricks",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010 December 8, Dan Hancox, The Guardian:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To struggle against fate or authority."
      ],
      "id": "en-kick_against_the_pricks-en-verb-wt9aZLm-",
      "links": [
        [
          "struggle",
          "struggle"
        ],
        [
          "fate",
          "fate"
        ],
        [
          "authority",
          "authority"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figuratively) To struggle against fate or authority."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "7 93",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to struggle against fate or authority",
          "word": "wider den Stachel löcken"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "7 93",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "artáčitʹsja",
          "sense": "to struggle against fate or authority",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "арта́читься"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-kick against the pricks.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/e0/En-au-kick_against_the_pricks.ogg/En-au-kick_against_the_pricks.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/En-au-kick_against_the_pricks.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "kick against the pricks"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English idioms",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Biblical phrase; see citation below.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "kicks against the pricks",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kicking against the pricks",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kicked against the pricks",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kicked against the pricks",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "head": "kick against the pricks"
      },
      "expansion": "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)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "To kick back (of an animal etc.) against being goaded."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "goad",
          "goad"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Near-synonym: kick over the traces"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts ix:[5], folio clxvj, verso:",
          "text": "The lorde ſayd / I am Ieſus whom thou perſecuteſt / it ſhalbe harde for the to kycke agaĩſt the pricke.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “The Young Life of Paul”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC, part I, page 67:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2002 November 5, Johnny Cash (lyrics and music), “The Man Comes Around”, in American IV: The Man Comes Around (Compact Disc), performed by Johnny Cash, United States of America: American Recordings, →OCLC, 440 063 339-2:",
          "text": "The whirlwind is in the thorn tree / It’s hard for thee to kick against the pricks",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010 December 8, Dan Hancox, The Guardian:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To struggle against fate or authority."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "struggle",
          "struggle"
        ],
        [
          "fate",
          "fate"
        ],
        [
          "authority",
          "authority"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figuratively) To struggle against fate or authority."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-kick against the pricks.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/e0/En-au-kick_against_the_pricks.ogg/En-au-kick_against_the_pricks.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/En-au-kick_against_the_pricks.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to struggle against fate or authority",
      "word": "wider den Stachel löcken"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "artáčitʹsja",
      "sense": "to struggle against fate or authority",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "арта́читься"
    }
  ],
  "word": "kick against the pricks"
}