thresh

Beat the wheat

Thresh is to separate grain from its stalk and husk by beating or trampling, traditionally done by hand with a flail or by having animals walk over harvested crops on a threshing floor.

Modern combines thresh mechanically during harvest.

The word extends to any vigorous beating or flailing motion: He threshed about in the water, unable to swim.

Thrash is a common variant spelling that has largely taken over the figurative senses.

grain

winnow

Sort by blowing air

  • chaffProtective seed coverings
  • flailSwing limbs erratically
  • huskDry seed covering

sheaf · straw · kernel · sift · mill · grist · glean · granary · beating · separation

separate

winnow

Sort by blowing air

  • siftSeparate coarse from fine
  • sortMethod of ordering
  • extractConcentrated derived substance

divide · cull · remove · isolate · filter · distinguish · partition · discern · process · refine

labor

flail

Swing limbs erratically

  • toilStrenuous, prolonged effort
  • exertionVigorous physical effort
  • sweatMoisture from skin pores

beat · strain · repetition · backbreaking · manual · farmhand · worker · effort · grind · fatigue

harvest

reap

Gather a crop

  • combineMerge, or harvesting machine
  • scytheManual crop-cutting implement
  • sickleCurved hand-held harvesting blade

harvester · crop · yield · farming · autumn · bounty · gathering · seasonal · field · bundle

tradition

flail

Swing limbs erratically

folklore · heritage · time-honored · rural · customs · village · agrarian

Categories
Opposites
agricultural process stage

threshsow

Implant in earth

plant · seed · cultivate · till · harvest

physical action type

threshrest

Cessation of activity

still · relax · unwind · idle · cease

material processing direction

threshbundle

Gathered items tied together

bind · sheave · gather · combine · assemble

Phrases
Family

threshold, thresholds, threshing, threshed, threshes

Familiarity
Top 20,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G