IdiomAnimals
English
Englishkick against the pricks
Meaning: To resist authority or fate in a way that only hurts oneself.
Example: “He spent his teens kicking against the pricks and his twenties apologizing.”
Origin: An ox kicking against the sharp goad (the "prick") only wounds itself. The image is ancient Greek, and English readers know it from the King James Bible (Acts 9:5): "it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks."
Equivalents in other languages
Spanish: dar coces contra el aguijón Literally: To give kicks against the goad
French: Ruer dans les brancards Literally: To kick in the shafts
More English idioms
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