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separate the sheep from the goats
Idioms and Phrases
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).Example Sentences
One woman mentioned Jesusâ promise to separate the sheep from the goats on the Last Judgment.
âThis will separate the sheep from the goats,â he said.
As colleges cut spending - as they must - how they do that will separate the sheep from the goats.
But DeWittâs draft report said the reason for the relocations was ânot that there was insufficient time,â but that Japanese cultural traits made it âimpossible to separate the sheep from the goatsâ and distinguish who could be trusted.
âWhy not sit down informally with us and try to separate the sheep from the goats first,â he wrote.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American HeritageŸ Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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