Chaff vs Winnow - What's the difference?
chaff | winnow |
The inedible parts of a grain-producing plant.
* Dryden
By extension, any excess or unwanted material, resource, or person; anything worthless.
* Shakespeare
Loose material dropped from aircraft specifically to interfere with radar detection.
Straw or hay cut up fine for the food of cattle.
* Wyatt
Light jesting talk; banter; raillery.
To use light, idle language by way of fun or ridicule; to banter.
To make fun of; to turn into ridicule by addressing in ironical or bantering language; to quiz.
(agriculture) To subject (granular material, especially food grain) to a current of air separating heavier and lighter components, as grain from chaff.
*
(figuratively) To separate, sift, analyze, or test in this manner.
(literary) To blow upon or toss about by blowing; to set in motion as with a fan or wings.
* 1872 Elliott Coues, Key to North American Birds
(intransitive, literary, dated) To move about with a flapping motion, as of wings; to flutter.
That which winnows or which is used in winnowing; a contrivance for fanning or winnowing grain.
As nouns the difference between chaff and winnow
is that chaff is the inedible parts of a grain-producing plant while winnow is that which winnows or which is used in winnowing; a contrivance for fanning or winnowing grain.As verbs the difference between chaff and winnow
is that chaff is to use light, idle language by way of fun or ridicule; to banter while winnow is to subject (granular material, especially food grain) to a current of air separating heavier and lighter components, as grain from chaff.chaff
English
Noun
(-)- To separate out the chaff , early cultures tossed baskets of grain into the air and let the wind blow away the lighter chaff.
- So take the corn and leave the chaff behind.
- There are plenty of good books on the subject, but take care to separate the wheat from the chaff .
- the chaff and ruin of the times
- By adding chaff' to his corn, the horse must take more time to eat it. In this way ' chaff is very useful.
Derived terms
* separate the wheat from the chaffSee also
* branVerb
(en verb)winnow
English
Verb
(en verb)- They winnowed the field to twelve.
- They winnowed the winners from the losers.
- They winnowed the losers from the winners.
- Gulls average much larger than terns, with stouter build; the feet are larger and more ambulatorial, the wings are shorter and not so thin; the birds winnow the air in a steady course unlike the buoyant dashing flight of their relatives.