to cream off
1
7.2
- phrasal verb
- /krim ɔf/
- After the auditions, the director creamed off the best actors for the leading roles in the play.
Examples
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The company tends to cream off the most skilled engineers for its most important projects.
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In the selection process, they usually cream off the top performers to ensure the team excels.
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And so you're getting the cream already of people that want to teach and can teach for the most part.
Synonyms
37
6.3
To choose only the best people or things for yourself
9
8.5
To choose the best people or things from a group
8
4.6
Take the best people or things from a group, leaving the rest behind
1
7.8
To take only the best or most profitable choices and leave others behind
1
8.8
Choosing only the best or most valuable customers and leaving the rest
How Selective
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase derives from the literal image of skimming the cream (the desirable top layer) plus 'off' meaning removing, so there is a clear compositional link to taking away the best items. However, mapping that physical image to selecting the "best people/things" is a metaphorical extension (cream = "the best") that may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Cream off is like skimming milk: someone takes the rich cream from the top and leaves the rest. That's why it also means 'to take the best people or things from a group'.