connect the dots

present singular third person connects the dots · participle present connecting the dots · participle past connected the dots · past connected the dots

1. literallyTo attempt to complete a puzzle in which dots on a paper must be connected in a specific order so that the joining lines form a picture.

   To connect the dots, use a pen or pencil and draw a line from dot 1 to dot 2, from dot 2 to dot 3 and so on until all the dots are connected. You can try to guess what kind of animal is shown in the picture before you connect the dots.

   1991, Roberta Collier, The Little Animal Follow-The-Dots Coloring Book, Courier Corporation, →ISBN, page 3

   Synonyms: join the dots

2. broadlyidiomaticTo make connections in one's mind, in order to arrive at a more holistic understanding of a situation.

   He joked in class that "Hitler's killer was his hero," but the teacher didn't connect the dots so his comment went unpunished.

   2 more examples

   If only the Bush team connected the dots, it would see what a nutty war on terrorism it is fighting, explains Mr. Prestowitz.

   2003 September 25, Thomas L. Friedman, quoting Clyde Prestowitz, “Connect The Dots”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 10 Apr 2021

   “I started just connecting the dots between extreme weather and climate change, and then the volume of pushback started to increase quite dramatically,” he said in an interview with the Associated Press.

   2023 July 9, AP, quoting Chris Gloninger, “‘You should have seen this note’: US meteorologists harassed for reporting on climate crisis”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 29 Aug 2023