separated the men from the boys

A form of separate the men from the boys — To identify (by means of a challenge or ordeal) which of a group of males are mature, courageous or masculine, and which are not.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verb
  1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of separate the men from the boys
Cite this entry
APA

separated the men from the boys. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/separated%20the%20men%20from%20the%20boys

MLA

“separated the men from the boys.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/separated%20the%20men%20from%20the%20boys. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “separated the men from the boys,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/separated%20the%20men%20from%20the%20boys.

Source: separated the men from the boys on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.