Dic: go against the grain

• It goes against the grain for Williams to admit that he's wrong.
• I don't think she likes to praise men. It goes against the grain.
• It's not easy to go against the grain and buy stocks when others are selling them.
• The changes will certainly rub against the grain here. (Usage notes: sometimes used verbs other than go.)
• Privatisation goes against the grain of their principle of opposition to private ownership of industry.

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△ If something that you say or do goes against the grain, you do not like saying or doing it and it is not what you would usually say or do. (cf. take with a pinch of salt)

△ to do something that is the opposite of what is usually done. (Etymology: from the act of cutting wood against the grain─in the direction opposite to the direction in which the fibers in the wood lie.)

△ grain: (19) natural disposition, inclination, or character (esp. in the phrase go against the grain)

△ If you say that an idea or action goes against the grain, you mean that it is very difficult for you to accept it or do it, because it conflicts with your previous ideas, beliefs, or principles.

... Cambridge Idioms Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms, Collins, Cobuild