flesh out vs flush out :

flesh out or flush out

To “flesh out” an idea is to give it substance, as a sculptor adds clay flesh to a skeletal armature. To “flush out” a criminal is to drive him or her out into the open. The latter term is derived from bird-hunting, in which one flushes out a covey of quail. If you are trying to develop something further, use “flesh”; but if you are trying to reveal something hitherto concealed, use “flush.”

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Definitions
  flesh out
  • v  make fat or plump
  • v  add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing
  • v  become round, plump, or shapely
News & Articles
  flesh out
  • Dannemora to hold noise-ordinance hearing
    Town Council invites public input at 6 tonight to help flesh out the details of a possible town-wide law.
    June 26, 2013 - Plattsburgh Press-Republican
  • Damian Lillard Previews NBA Life for Draft Prospects from Mid-Majors
    It's barely been a year since Damian  Lillard  turned pro, and already the Weber State alum and current Portland Trail Blazers mainstay has managed to flesh out a rather impressive resume for himself. Lottery pick in the NBA Draft? Check. Summer League MVP? Check. All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge champion? Check. Fourth unanimous Rookie of the Year in league history? Check. All-Star? MVP ...
    June 25, 2013 - Bleacher Report
  • Quantum Break live-action series comes with the game
    The symbiotic live-action series produced as part of the Xbox One-exclusive "time travel mystery" Quantum Break will be included with the game when it ships, Remedy Creative Director Sam Lake has confirmed. Quantum Break continues Remedy's trend of using other forms of media - in its worlds and outside of them - to flesh out the universe of its games. Max Payne's story was told in pages ripped ...
    June 11, 2013 - Joystiq
  flush out
  • Police seek help in finding culprits in bleach attack, robbery on MBTA bus
    Police have asked for the public’s help in identifying three women who allegedly threw bleach in the face of a man on an MBTA bus and then robbed him, MBTA Transit Police said today. The incident occured on a Route 28 bus on Blue Hill Avenue around 2 a.m. Sunday. Other passengers on the bus helped the man flush out his eyes after the assault, according to Transit Police.
    June 12, 2013 - Boston Globe