chaff
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to separate the wheat from the chaff
An idiom that means to distinguish and separate the good from the bad or the important from the unimportant.
Bei der großen Anzahl an Bewerbern müssen wir nun die Spreu vom Weizen trennen.
With the large number of applicants, we now have to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Today, the word 'Spreu' (chaff) is used almost only in the fixed idiom 'die Spreu vom Weizen trennen' (to separate the wheat from the chaff). The literal meaning is very rare and limited to agricultural contexts.
Im Auswahlverfahren müssen wir die Spreu vom Weizen trennen.
In the selection process, we have to separate the wheat from the chaff.
The idiom means to distinguish the good and valuable ('der Weizen' — the wheat) from the bad and useless ('die Spreu' — the chaff). The verb is always 'trennen' (to separate).
Ein guter Lektor muss bei einem Manuskript die Spreu vom Weizen trennen können.
A good editor has to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff in a manuscript.
You will find the literal meaning 'husks of grain' almost only in texts about agriculture, history, or biology. In normal everyday life, it practically does not occur.
Der Wind blies die leichte Spreu über den Hof.
The wind blew the light chaff across the yard.
wheat
'der Weizen' and 'die Spreu' both belong to the area of grain, but they stand in clear contrast to each other. Weizen refers to the useful kernels, which can be used to make flour, for example. Spreu is the empty husks and small plant parts left over when grain is processed. In the idiom 'die Spreu vom Weizen trennen' (to separate the wheat from the chaff), this contrast is used figuratively: you separate the good or important from the bad or unimportant. The words can be confused because they are often mentioned together, but they do not refer to the same thing.
Bei der Auswahl der Bewerbungen mussten wir die Spreu vom Weizen trennen.
When selecting the applications, we had to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Im Sommer wächst der Weizen auf den Feldern rund um das Dorf.
In summer, wheat grows in the fields around the village.