cull
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Related to culling: gladiatorial
bene cull
obsolete slang A good fellow. Primarily heard in UK. Ah, no, he's one of us—a right bene cull!
cull (someone or something) out of (something)
To remove someone or something from a group. We were so determined to win the science bowl that we culled everyone who seemed susceptible to stage fright out of the team.
cull out
To separate and remove someone or something from a group. A noun or pronoun can be used between "cull" and "out." We were so determined to win the science bowl that we culled out everyone who seemed susceptible to stage fright. We culled the weakest members of the herd out so that only the strongest would reproduce.
cull the herd
1. Literally, to separate or remove (and usually kill) inferior animals out of a herd so as to reduce numbers or remove undesirable traits from the group as a whole. We had to quickly cull the herd when it came to light that some cows might be carrying an infectious disease.
2. By extension, to separate or remove people from a larger group. With so many people applying for a limited number of jobs, employers have had to cull the herd by introducing much stricter criteria and a more elaborate application for hiring. Universities have long used standardized test results as a means of culling the herd of applicants they receive each year.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
cull someone or something out of something
and cull someone or something outto eliminate someone or something from a group. We will cull the older pigeons out from the flock. They culled out the slower runners from the team.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
cull
n. a socially unacceptable person. This place is so filled with culls! Let’s split.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.