separate the wheat from the chaff
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Derived from Matthew 3:12.[1]
Pronunciation edit
Audio (AU) (file)
Verb edit
separate the wheat from the chaff (third-person singular simple present separates the wheat from the chaff, present participle separating the wheat from the chaff, simple past and past participle separated the wheat from the chaff)
- (idiomatic, intransitive) To select only that which is of value.
- Synonym: winnow
- 2022 July 13, Rachel Cheung, “A Bored Chinese Housewife Spent Years Falsifying Russian History on Wikipedia”, in Vice[1]:
- As a punishment, Zhemao and her affiliated accounts were suspended permanently. Most of her articles were deleted based on community consensus. Some Wikipedians even wrote to experts, seeking help to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Translations edit
to select only that which is of value
See also edit
References edit
- ^ The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], 1611, →OCLC, Matthew 3:12.: “[…] he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”