connect the dots


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connect the dots

1. Literally, to draw a line between dots, often as part of a children's activity to create an illustration or design. The kids are having fun connecting the dots and making pretty pictures for us.
2. To understand something by piecing together hints or other bits of information. Once I started to connect the dots, I realized that, if they hadn't called me by now, I probably wasn't getting the job.
See also: connect, dot
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

connect the ˈdots

(British English also join (up) the ˈdots) find or show the relationships between different things: It’s not hard to connect the dots between crime and poverty. ▶ connect-the-ˈdots adj.: a connect-the-dots article
See also: connect, dot
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

connect the dots

1. To draw connecting lines between a seemingly random arrangement of numbered dots so as to produce a picture or design.
2. To draw logical inferences connecting items of information to reveal something previously hidden or unknown.
See also: connect, dot
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive ?
Effective leadership helps people connect the dots. This is called creating a line of sight.
"Connect the Dots" in Your Business - The first part of Success Circle Live!
Once again, "Pilgrim Hill" director Gerard Barrett gravitates toward characters too marginal to garner mainstream interest, while approaching his story with an elegant yet demanding ellipticism that overestimates the audience's ability (or inclination) to connect the dots.
Come join us as we connect the dots between soul and the genres it has inspired, moulded and influenced.
Sometimes you can connect the dots (for example, a late payment notice), but often you need to understand what other channels they've traveled before they e-mailed, selected chat--or, as a last resort, picked up the phone to call.
Saving projects is automatic, and games include Connect the Dots and Concentration.
Let's connect the dots: combine the pro-abortionist mantra "I have a right to do with my own body what I want, regardless of who it hurts" with the new "right to die" slogan, and we appear to be creating a new and unique human-rights principle in Canada: "The right to do what I want with my own body, even to die, no matter who it hurts" Sounds like Canada could soon become a suicide-bomber haven--with the "right" to blow ourselves up, no matter who or how many we hurt--with the full protection and support of the Canadian courts.
She also said, "I'm here to connect the dots between super storm Sandy and the record heat, drought, and fire we've seen this year 6 and this Tar Sands pipeline, which will make all of these problems much worse.
To find out who it is, connect the dots from 1 to 38.
"A click on Climatedots takes any interested visitor to a huge orange dot which states; "Connect the dots. Protest, educate, document, and volunteer along with thousands of people around the world to support the communities on the front lines of the climate crisis.
CONNECT THE DOTS IS "A FORM OF puzzle containing a sequence of numbered dots.
distract it [the assembly] from other critical issues." Unfortunately, Veneroso just couldn't connect the dots. "Roy's situation" is precisely the most critical issue for Maryknoll now.
This paper triangulates perspectives on reflective pedagogy (Yancey, 2009), integrative learning (Eynon, 2009) and technology integration into learning and teaching (Wenzlaff, 1998) in order to connect the dots among a set of values, challenges and opportunities that concomitantly emerge from using eportfolios (electronic portfolios) in teacher education at BMCC (Borough of Manhattan Community College) in New York City.
The book examines how data can be displayed In ways that help--or hinder--the viewer's ability to connect the dots. A striking example involves the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, which was doomed by an O-ring failure.