dar coces contra el aguijón
Meaning: To resist or rebel futilely against something stronger or inevitable.
Language: Spanish
Literally: to give kicks against the goad
Category: Animals
Origin: Biblical and classical in origin, referring to the futility of a pack animal kicking against the pointed stick used to drive it.
More idioms — Animals
- sich die Hörner abstoßen — To shed youthful recklessness and settle into maturity.
- ein Esel schimpft den andern Langohr — A person criticizes another for the same fault they themselves possess.
- bei der Stange halten — to keep someone obedient, loyal, or in line through discipline or pressure.
- keine zehn Pferde — nothing could force or move one; obstinate refusal or immovable determination.
- an die Kandare nehmen — To restrain, control, or impose discipline on someone.
- einen Vogel zeigen — To gesture dismissively or insultingly, usually by mimicking a cuckoo or making a mocking…
More Spanish idioms
- no ganar para sustos — To be plagued by constant troubles and misfortunes; to suffer setback after setback.
- perder la chaveta — To go crazy; to lose one's grip on sanity or self-control.
- de Pascuas a Ramos — Once in a blue moon; extremely rarely or at great intervals.
- con lo puesto — With nothing but the clothes on one's back; in a state of complete destitution.
- Buscar una aguja en un pajar — To search for something you have almost no chance of finding, because the thing is tiny a…
- Estar en la edad del pavo — To be at an awkward teenage phase.
From our compliments & insults
- Tienes menos luces que un barco pirata — You're really not the brightest.
- Eres más lento que el caballo del malo — You're painfully slow — the villain's horse never catches the hero.
- Eres un crack — You're brilliant — a total star at what you do.