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separate
under separate cover
old fashioned In a separate correspondence. This letter serves only as a receipt of your application—we shall send you our decision under separate cover after it has been reviewed.
segregate (someone) from (someone else)
and segregate (something) from (something else)to separate someone from someone else or something from something else. I was asked to segregate the swimmers from the nonswimmers. Let's segregate the larger fish from the smaller ones.
separate but equal
segregated but of equal value or quality. (A doctrine once sanctioned by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding racial segregation.) The separate but equal doctrine was abandoned years ago. They were provided with facilities that were said to be separate but equal—but were really of a lower standard.
separate off (from something)
to move or head away from something. The road to the cabin separates off from the main road and goes along for a mile or two. It separates off about a mile from here.
separate someone from (someone else)
and separate something from something elseto segregate people or things. The nurse separated the infected people from the healthy ones. Please separate the spoiled apples from the good ones.
separate someone or something into something
to divide people or things into subdivisions. We had to separate the kids into smaller groups. Jane separated the apples into three groups by size.
separate something from something else Go to separate someone from someone
else.
separate something off from something
and separate something offto remove something from something. Frank separated the cream off from the milk. Separate off the hens from the rooster.
separate something out of something
and separate something outto remove something out from something. She used a filter to separate the dirt particles out of the water. A filter separated out the impurities.
separate the men from the boys
and separate the sheep from the goatsFig. to separate the competent from those who are less competent. (Not necessarily just about males.) This is the kind of task that separates the men from the boys. Working in a challenging place like this really separates the sheep from the goats.
separate the wheat from the chaff
Prov. to separate what is useful or valuable from what is worthless. When it comes to books, time will separate the wheat from the chaff. Good books will have lasting appeal, and the rest will be forgotten. The managers hoped that the new procedure for evaluating employees would separate the wheat from the chaff.
separate the men from the boys
to show which people in a group can do something difficult and which people cannot The five-day camping trip next month should separate the men from the boys!
go your separate ways
to end your relationship We were good friends in college, but after graduation we went our separate ways. The two firms went their separate ways about 18 months ago.
separate the wheat from the chaff
to choose what is of high quality over what is of lower quality As we learn more about computer programs for the classroom, we are able to separate the wheat from the chaff and get the right software for our kids.
separate/sort out the men from the boys
if a difficult situation or activity separates the men from the boys, it shows which people in a group are brave and strong and which are not You have to survive outdoors for three days and three nights. That should separate the men from the boys.
separate the wheat from the chaff
to choose the things or people that are of high quality from a group of mixed quality A preliminary look through the applications will help you to separate the wheat from the chaff.
See separate out the men from the boys, separate the sheep from the goatsseparate the sheep from the goats
(British, American & Australian) also sort (out) the sheep from the goats (British & Australian) to choose the people or things of high quality from a group of mixed quality I'll look through the application forms and separate the sheep from the goats.
separate but equal
Relating to or affected by a policy whereby two groups may be segregated if they are given equal facilities and opportunities. For example, They've divided up the physical education budget so that the girls' teams are separate but equal to the boys . This idiom comes from a Louisiana law of 1890, upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson, "requiring all railway companies carrying passengers on their trains in this state, to provide equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races." Subsequently it was widely used to separate African-Americans from the white population through a general policy of racial segregation. In 1954, in a unanimous ruling to end school segregation, the Supreme Court finally overturned the law (in Brown v. Board of Education).
separate the men from the boys
Distinguish between mature, experienced individuals and novices, as in The picket line will separate the men from the boys in the union. The idiom is used without respect to gender. [c. 1930]
separate the sheep from the goats
Distinguish between good and bad individuals, or superior and inferior ones. For example, In a civil war where both sides commit atrocities, you can't separate the sheep from the goats . This term refers to Jesus's prophecy in the New Testament (Matthew 25:32) that the sheep (that is, the compassionate) will sit on God's right hand (and find salvation), and the goats (the hard-hearted) will sit on the left (and be sent to damnation).
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.