what's the Meaning of this sentence?

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Hi,while surfing on the net,i find this sentence in  an article==&gt;   "separating the corn from the chaff is where the rubber meets the road.".can anyone explain to me what does that mean?????the source :  http://www.javalobby.org/java/forums/t105120.html

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer

Wow, talking about mixing your metaphors!

I've always heard it as separating the wheat (not the corn) from the chaff. This means "to choose what is of high quality over what is of lower quality" (http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/separate+the+wheat+from+the+chaff ).

Where the rubber meets the road means "where it is really important that something perform well."

So altogether, I guess this means "The ability to tell what is high quality from what is low quality is the thing that is important." But it's a weird way to express it.

Philip · Answer

AnonymousHi,
while surfing on the net,i find this sentence in an article==> "separating the corn from the chaff is where the rubber meets the road.".
can anyone explain to me what does that mean?????

the source : http://www.javalobby.org/java/forums/t105120.html

"Rubber meeting the road" refers to an automobile on a highway. I think it means the first step in a process, but I don't use the expression, and it is very seldom that I hear or see it.

Delmobile · Answer

The "wheat and chaff" reference is from the Bible, Matthew 3:12. ""His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

I believe "where the rubber meets the road" refers to the quality of an automobile tire. No matter how much care is taken in manufacturing it, it isn't truly tested until it "meets," or comes into contact with, the road.

I agree, Barbara, what a wacky mixing of metaphor it is.

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