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general::
Phrase(s): swim against the tide [and] swim against the current
1. Lit. to swim in a direction opposite to the flow of the water. • She became exhausted, swimming against the tide. • If you really want strenuous exercise, go out in the stream and swim against the current. 2. Fig. to do something that is in opposition to the general movement of things. • Why can’t you cooperate? Do you always have to swim against the tide? • You always seem to waste your energy swimming against the current.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs