Kick against the pricks

Origin of: Kick against the pricks

Kick against the pricks

This expression derives from the pricks or goads used to urge on and drive animals. For example, a horse that kicks against the pricks is one that refuses to respond to the goads or spurs of the rider and is therefore recalcitrant or disobedient. The figurative use of the expression as in rebelling against authority is very old and is found in the writings of Aeschylus 525-456 BC It first appears in English in the King James Version of the Bible (1611) in the New Testament Acts 9:5, “It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”