separate wheat from chaff

separate the wheat from the chaff

To separate the good or valuable from that which is inferior. With so many manuscripts arriving daily, it's a challenge to separate the wheat from the chaff and spot the really exceptional ones.

See also: chaff, separate, wheat

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

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

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.