separate the wheat from the chaff
Keep only good
To separate the wheat from the chaff is to distinguish what is valuable from what is worthless.
The phrase comes from threshing grain, where the edible kernels must be separated from the inedible husks.
It typically applies to sorting through a mixed lot—ideas, applicants, evidence—to find what's worth keeping: We had to separate the wheat from the chaff among the hundreds of résumés.
- discriminateTreat unequally based on category
- winnowingSeparating grain from chaff
- discernmentKeen perception and judgment
- distinctionNotable difference or honor
- sift throughExamine methodically for findings
judgment · weed out · thin the herd · threshing · kernel · grain · wheat · husk · sort out · chaff · differentiation · prioritize · sifting · categorize · evaluation · assessment · cut the mustard · sorting
separate the wheat from the chafflump together
Combine without distinction
take at face value · accept at face value · miss the forest for the trees · miss the point
separate the wheat from the chaffthrow the baby out with the bathwater
Discard valuable with unwanted
take it or leave it · all or nothing · paint with a broad brush · tar with the same brush · rubber stamp
separate, separately, separation, separates, separated, separating, separator, separable, inseparable