separate the men from the boys

English

Verb

separate the men from the boys (third-person singular simple present separates the men from the boys, present participle separating the men from the boys, simple past and past participle separated the men from the boys)

1. To identify (by means of a challenge or ordeal) which of a group of males are mature, courageous or masculine, and which are not.

   Hypernym: separate the wheat from the chaff