connect the dots

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connect the dots

1. Literally, to draw a line between dots, often as part of a children's activity to create an illustration or design. The kids are having fun connecting the dots and making pretty pictures for us.
2. To understand something by piecing together hints or other bits of information. Once I started to connect the dots, I realized that, if they hadn't called me by now, I probably wasn't getting the job.
See also: connect, dot

connect the ˈdots

(British English also join (up) the ˈdots) find or show the relationships between different things: It’s not hard to connect the dots between crime and poverty. ▶ connect-the-ˈdots adj.: a connect-the-dots article
See also: connect, dot

connect the dots

1. To draw connecting lines between a seemingly random arrangement of numbered dots so as to produce a picture or design.
2. To draw logical inferences connecting items of information to reveal something previously hidden or unknown.
See also: connect, dot
References in periodicals archive ?
The theme of the July 2007 issue was "Architainment and Attraction Lighting," with a cover story that connected the dots in Montreal and another feature that connected the dots between CFLs and LEDs.
Sign of the Times
He personally connected the dots from his experiences as a youth.
Connecting the dots: Steve Jobs' influence on the wider world
It suggests the range of an artist who, in collaborations with Cage, Mark Lancaster, Jasper Johns, Isamu Noguchi, David Tudor, Rei Kawakubo, and Robert Rauschenberg, has connected the dots between disciplines for at least two-thirds of the twentieth century.
MERCE CUNNINGHAM
2] level every month between 1958 and 1986, and then connected the dots.
Say it with pictures
E[acute accent]The first generation of social networking sites (like Friendster) connected the dots between people.
Organized Groups Go ''WEB 2.0'' with CollectiveX; New Web-Based Service Combines Private, Secure Communications and Social Networking
Housing drives our state's economy, and this report proves that point, but too many decision-makers haven't connected the dots yet.
Study: State Economy Hinges on Housing; New-home Construction Contributes $59 Billion to the Economy, Sustains 526,000 Jobs and Delivers Homeownership Opportunities
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