Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

kick against the pricks

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.02 in modern English

Syllables: kick- a-gain-st the pricks
IPA

42

Scrabble Score

20

Letters

4

Syllables

12

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To kick back (of an animal etc.) against being goaded.

verb

To struggle against fate or authority.

Example Sentences

"Near-synonym: kick over the traces"
"The lorde ſayd / I am Ieſus whom thou perſecuteſt / it ſhalbe harde for the to kycke agaĩſt the pricke."
"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."
"The whirlwind is in the thorn tree / It’s hard for thee to kick against the pricks"
"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."

Etymology

Biblical phrase; see citation below.

Inflected Forms

kicks against the pricks (present, singular) kicking against the pricks (participle, present) kicked against the pricks (participle, past) kicked against the pricks (past)

Synonyms

kick over the traces

Questions

What does kick against the pricks mean?: To kick back (of an animal etc.) against being goaded.
Where does kick against the pricks come from?: Biblical phrase; see citation below.

How to pronounce kick against the pricks

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