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#1 2010-01-03 01:08:38

klakritz
Eggcornista
From: Winchester Massachusetts
Registered: 2005-10-25
Posts: 674

'separate the wheat from the shaft' for '...from the chaff'

I’m not entirely sure what- if anything- the substituted version means, although it may be relevant that a grist mill contains a large stone rotating on a shaft. 200+ ghits:

“Separating the wheat from the shaft during the interviewing process has a lot to do with the relevancy of the questions asked in this interview guide.
teacherhiringguide.com/

Without the contrast of skillful vs clumsy, good art would not be visible or appreciated. Also, the competitive spirit winnows out the wheat from the shaft.
british-poetry.suite101.com › ... › Poetry › British Poetry

Separating the Wheat from the Shaft (published 2006): It may be that the immigration issue needs to be seen from multiple perspectives.
www.hankfincken.com/publications.htm

The separation of the wheat from the shaft, the good from the evil and the cleansing of the earth will bring us a new heaven and earth.
xmb.stuffucanuse.com/xmb/viewthread.php?tid=2991&page=3

The alliances are forming and God is dividing the wheat from the shaft.
tmqblog.com/2009/01/08/judea-palestine-and-muslim-arab-lies/

With limited time available to peruse the week’s news I would appreciate the help of seasoned editors to winnow the wheat from the shaft. ...
voices.washingtonpost.com/.../posts_national_weekly_edition.html

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#2 2010-01-03 09:33:14

kem
Eggcornista
From: Victoria, BC
Registered: 2007-08-28
Posts: 2851

Re: 'separate the wheat from the shaft' for '...from the chaff'

Quite a good eggcorn. The shaft would be the stem of the wheat plant—which is what constitutes the bulk of the wheat chaff.

In botany the rigid upright member of a plant is variously called the shoot, shaft, stipe, stem, trunk, pedicle, stock. The correct term depends on the plant, the botanical tradition, and which underpaid TA is grading the papers that week.


Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.

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#3 2010-01-03 17:33:42

patschwieterman
Administrator
From: California
Registered: 2005-10-25
Posts: 1680

Re: 'separate the wheat from the shaft' for '...from the chaff'

Kem wrote

In botany the rigid upright member of a plant is variously called the shoot, shaft, stipe, stem, trunk, pedicle, stock.

Back in my botany days—the 80s—the two terms I ran into in classes were “pedicel” and “peduncle.” (I’ve always loved the sound of the latter term.) I thought you were blending those two together in “pedicle,” but the OED does list it as a part of a plant—it says its use in botany (unlike in zoology) is now rare; pedicel has apparently taken over.

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#4 2019-01-27 03:43:38

Dixon Wragg
Eggcornista
From: Cotati, California
Registered: 2008-07-04
Posts: 1375

Re: 'separate the wheat from the shaft' for '...from the chaff'

Resurrecting this thread for more love because I just stumbled upon a new example of this great eggcorn, which I don’t recall having seen before.

His reality show ( falsely) presented him as a winner, a father figure who rewards those who are willing to work hard and cuts the wheat from the shaft and knows how people succeed.
FB thread

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