chaff
CHAF
/tʃæf/
The dry, protective husks of grain separated during threshing; worthless matter; lighthearted teasing or banter.
Almost always used in the idiom 'separate the wheat from the chaff' to describe sorting the valuable from the worthless.
The story behind the word. From Old English 'ceaf', referring to the dry, worthless husks of grain. Because it was easily blown away by the wind and discarded during winnowing, it became a universal metaphor for anything light, worthless, or trivial.
Word relationships
- husks: 'Husks' is a general term for the dry outer covering of any seed or fruit, whereas 'chaff' specifically refers to the fragmented husks separated during processing.
- refuse: 'Refuse' is a formal term for general waste or garbage, while 'chaff' is light, organic agricultural waste.
Commonly confused with
- chafe: 'Chafe' means to make sore by rubbing, while 'chaff' refers to grain husks or teasing.
Word family
- chaffy (adjective): Abounding in or resembling chaff.
Collocations
- separate the wheat from the chaff
- blown like chaff
Idioms & expressions
- separate the wheat from the chaff
Example sentences
- "The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away." A classic biblical comparison of the wicked to worthless husks. (The King James Bible, Psalm 1:4)
- "We had to read through dozens of mediocre essays to separate the wheat from the chaff." Describing a process of sorting quality.
Memory hook
Chaff is 'cheap' and blows away in the wind. Chaff is drafty and drifts away.
When not to use
Do not use to describe heavy waste or garbage; chaff is specifically light, dry, and papery.
Fun facts
- In military aviation, 'chaff' refers to a radar countermeasure consisting of a cloud of tiny, thin pieces of aluminum or metallized glass fiber dispersed to confuse radar systems.
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