resistance

Related to resistance: voltage, electrical resistance, resistor

choose the line of least resistance

To do something or decide on a course of action that avoids confrontation or difficulty. Let's not try to innovate this time—just choose the line of least resistance so we can get the job done on time. You're never going to be respected by your boss if you choose the line of least resistance every time he asks you to do something you don't want to do.
See also: choose, least, line, of, resistance

choose the path of least resistance

To do something or decide on a course of action that avoids confrontation or difficulty. Let's not try to innovate this time—just choose the path of least resistance so we can get the job done on time. You're never going to be respected by your boss if you choose the path of least resistance every time he asks you to do something you don't want to do.
See also: choose, least, of, path, resistance

mount resistance

To try to stop or keep something from happening. I'm worried that the townspeople are going to mount resistance once they learn that yet another tax has been levied against them.
See also: mount, resistance

pocket of resistance

A small but consolidated group of people standing in opposition to someone or something. Most of the country has fallen to the brutal regime, but there remains several pockets of resistance determined to hold out until the bitter end. There's a pocket of resistance within the company to the proposed merger, but I'll make sure they don't stand in our way.
See also: of, pocket, resistance

take the line of least resistance

To do the thing that is easiest. A variant of the more common "take the path of least resistance." Let's not try to innovate this time—just take the line of least resistance so we can get the job done on time.
See also: least, line, of, resistance, take

take the path of least resistance

To do the thing that causes the least amount of difficulties, problems, or resistance. Let's not try to innovate this time—just take the path of least resistance so we can get the job done on time. I know you like to take the path of least resistance in these production meetings, but you need to stand up for yourself when you know you're right!
See also: least, of, path, resistance, take

the line of least resistance

The thing, option, or course of action that is easiest to do; that which avoids confrontation, difficulty, awkwardness, or tension. Let's not try to innovate this time—just take the line of least resistance so we can get the job done on time. You're never going to be respected by your boss if you choose the line of least resistance every time he asks you to do something you don't want to do.
See also: least, line, of, resistance

the path of least resistance

The thing, option, or course of action that is easiest to do; that which avoids confrontation, difficulty, awkwardness, or tension. We're not looking for major innovations. Just take the path of least resistance so we can get the product finished on time. You're never going to be respected by your boss if you choose the path of least resistance every time he asks you to do something you don't want to do.
See also: least, of, path, resistance

the pièce de résistance

1. The most outstanding, remarkable, or prized achievement, accomplishment, aspect, event, etc., in a given series or group. Mr. Reynolds has an impressive gallery, but I'm told that his latest sculpture will be the pièce de résistance.
2. The principal or featured dish in a meal; the entrée. And now for the pièce de résistance—paupiettes of black sole, served with asparagus spears and a rich consommé.
See also: DE, piece, resistance
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

line of least resistance

the course of action that will cause least trouble or effort. Jane won't stand up for her rights. She always takes the line of least resistance. Joan never states her point of view. She takes the line of least resistance and agrees with everyone else.
See also: least, line, of, resistance

path of least resistance

Fig. the easiest course to follow; the easiest route. (Often with follow the or take the.) John will follow the path of least resistance. I like challenges. I won't usually take the path of least resistance.
See also: least, of, path, resistance

pocket of resistance

Fig. a small group of people who resist change or domination. The accounting department seems to be a pocket of resistance when it comes to automating.
See also: of, pocket, resistance
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

least resistance, line of

Also, path of least resistance. The easiest method, way, or course of action. For example, He tends to do what most people seem to want, taking the line of least resistance. This term employs resistance in the sense of "the physical opposition of one thing or force to another," a usage dating from the early 1600s. It has been used figuratively since about 1900.
See also: least, line, of
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

take the line of least resistance

or

take the path of least resistance

If someone takes the line of least resistance or takes the path of least resistance, they do the thing that is easiest in a situation. They would rather take the line of least resistance than become involved in arguments or unpleasant situations. It had been the path of least resistance to agree to Sam's suggestions. Note: The line of least resistance and the path of least resistance are used in many other structures to mean the easiest course of action. He seemed to prove that the line of least resistance would always pay off. Instead of finding a radical solution to its economic difficulties, the Parliament chose the path of least resistance.
See also: least, line, of, resistance, take
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

the line (or path) of least resistance

an option which avoids difficulty or unpleasantness; the easiest course of action.
See also: least, line, of, resistance
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

(choose, follow, take, etc.) the line of least reˈsistance

(to choose, etc.) the easiest way of doing something: You’ll never get anywhere in life if you always take the line of least resistance.
See also: least, line, of, resistance

your/the ˌpièce de réˈsistance

(from French) the most important or impressive part of a group or series of things: I hope you all enjoyed your main course. And now for my pièce de résistance: chocolate gateau!
See also: DE, piece, resistance
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

pièce de résistance

The most notable or most highly prized feature of a group or series; the star attraction. Originally, from the 1790s or so, this French term always referred to a meal’s greatest delicacy (an appropriate matter of concern to French palates). By the mid-nineteenth century the term had been transferred to other outstanding items, at least in English. Thackeray, in an essay (1840) about art, stated: “To supply the picture lover with the pièces de résistance of the feast.”
See also: DE, piece, resistance
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • choose the line of least resistance
  • choose the path of least resistance
  • least resistance, line of
  • line of least resistance
  • the line of least resistance
  • take the line of least resistance
  • take the path of least resistance
  • the path of least resistance
  • path of least resistance
  • the easy option
References in periodicals archive
Figure 2 shows regimens received at the time of the resistance test.
UK HIV Drug Resistance database: background and recent outputs
Silane coupling agents, when used with reinforcements, can be improve impact strength, tensile strength, and other properties such as detergent resistance and dimensional stability.
Impact modifiers
Fluoroquinolone resistance linked to GyrA, GyrB, and ParC mutations in Salmonella enterica Typhimurium isolates in humans.
Ciprofloxacin-resistant Salmonella Kentucky in travelers
Perhaps because of a "spillover" from intra-abdominal fat depots (possibly caused by leptin deficiency or leptin resistance), fat accumulates "ectopically" in patients with HIV-associated lipodystrophy.
HIV-associated lipodystrophy syndrome: an accelerated form of the metabolic syndrome of insulin resistance due to altered fat distribution
The BPA dose high enough to cause insulin resistance in mice was in the same range as the 50 [micro]g/kg/day reference dose established by the U.S.
Exploring the roots of diabetes: bisphenol a may promote insulin resistance
The mechanism of band tension is simple: As the band is stretched more tension is placed on the bar/machine arm, which gradually increases resistance to the lift.
Strike-up the band training: the benefits of variable resistance
However, three-terminal contact resistance measurements at the approximate currents that will pass through each contact in the quadruple-series mode on the i = 2 (12 906.4 [ohm]) quantum Hall plateau at 8.3 T and 1.58 K tell a different story: S' = 9 [ohm], D' = 0.04 [ohm], 1' = 115 [ohm], 2' = 238 [ohm], 3' = 1417 [ohm], 4' = 73 [ohm], 5' = 179 [ohm], and 6' = 7644 [ohm] after measuring the voltages with both current directions and subtracting lead resistances.
Initial NIST AC QHR measurements
In the absence of a discussion of the internal politics of the slave community, the question of the relationship of "agency" to "resistance" has generally been framed as a question of the relation of "everyday" forms of resistance to "revolutionary" forms of resistance, a misleading opposition which has triumphed over even the most insistent efforts to displace it.
On agency
First, though, we need to appreciate what resistance means in a patriarchal institution.
"Relate Sexual to Historical": Race, Resistance, and Desire in Gayl Jones's Corregidora
And it's taken a while for the bacteria to acquire resistance. But antibiotics are being used with increasing frequency in hospitals, on outpatients treated by doctors, and in agriculture.
WHEN ANTIBIOTICS STOP WORKING MAGIC BULLETS UNDER SIEGE
Levy, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for Adaptation Genetics and Drug Resistance at Tufts University.
How to overcome resistance
The evolution of resistance to pesticides in insects has become a major problem worldwide.
Ecological and Evolutionary Aspects of Insecticide Resistance
Resistance Method - Another way to monitor the changes in an inductor is the resistance method.
New method helps determine when to shut down an inductor
The most common forms of resistance to entrenched repressive regimes, whether homegrown or installed by a conqueror, are guerrilla warfare and terrorism.
Strategic Nonviolent Conflict: The Dynamics of People Power in the Twentieth Century