catch the drift

Frequency: 8.015.2 per million words

To understand the general meaning or point of what is being said.

driftVERB + NOUN

Categories:

catch

Examples (10)

  • He spoke in slang, but I was able to catch the drift of what he meant.
  • She didn't explain everything, but we caught the drift from her gestures.
  • He wants us to leave now, if you catch my drift.
  • I think I'm starting to catch the drift of this complex new strategy.
  • Even from the back of the lecture hall, I could catch the drift of the professor's argument.
  • Read the first chapter, and you'll soon catch the drift of the author's style.
  • The manual is confusing, and it's hard to catch the drift of the instructions.
  • After watching for a while, the new employee finally caught the drift of how the system worked.
  • The diplomats exchanged subtle glances, but their counterparts failed to catch the drift.
  • Just listen to their conversation for a moment; you don't need to know the language to catch the drift.