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chaff

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separate the wheat from the chaff

Prov. to separate what is useful or valuable from what is worthless. When it comes to books, time will separate the wheat from the chaff. Good books will have lasting appeal, and the rest will be forgotten. The managers hoped that the new procedure for evaluating employees would separate the wheat from the chaff.

See also: chaff, separate, wheat

separate the wheat from the chaff

to choose what is of high quality over what is of lower quality As we learn more about computer programs for the classroom, we are able to separate the wheat from the chaff and get the right software for our kids.

See also: chaff, separate, wheat

separate the wheat from the chaff

to choose the things or people that are of high quality from a group of mixed quality A preliminary look through the applications will help you to separate the wheat from the chaff.

See separate out the men from the boys, separate the sheep from the goats

See also: chaff, separate, wheat

separate wheat from chaff

Sort the valuable from the worthless, as in I hope we'll get a preview of the auction so we can separate the wheat from the chaff. This idiom alludes to the ancient practice of winnowing grain.

See also: chaff, separate, wheat