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]

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Example Sentences

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“They needed to separate the men from the boys,” he said.

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Who's going to do that, and that will separate the men from the boys.

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"I'm still going to mourn for the rest of my life. But now it's time to separate the men from the boys," he continued.

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“There have to be some hard ones to separate the men from the boys—apologies to Mrs. Stenson there.”

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“It’s time for Cox to step aside, and to separate the men from the boys in the House of Delegates.”

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