tease out

English

Verb

tease out (third-person singular simple present teases out, present participle teasing out, simple past and past participle teased out)

1. To unravel; (figuratively, by extension) to determine; solve.
   • 2017, Jennifer S. Holland, For These Monkeys, It’s a Fight for Survival., National Geographic (March 2017)[1]

     The researchers are teasing out fine details of the yaki’s private life.

   • 2017, Dr. Mike Roussell, Ask the Diet Doctor: Will CLA Help You Lose Weight?:

     CLA is actually an umbrella term for several different types of trans fats similar in chemical structure. More research is necessary to tease out which type of CLA is actually the most beneficial (but more on that later).

2. To separate as if by unraveling.
3. To work out, procure, or extract, usually by processes involving subterfuge, diligence, manipulation, or coaxing.
   • 2019, Andy Schneider, The Chicken Whisperer's Guide to Zero-Waste Chicken Keeping:

     Well, early in the days of vitamin and mineral discovery, chickens were the research models for studies that eventually teased out information that we take for granted today.