Flesh Out vs. Flush Out – How to Use Each Correctly

/ October 15, 2019/ Usage

What’s the Difference Between To Flesh Out and To Flush Out?

To flesh something out and to flush something out are both phrasal verbs that sound very similar. However, they have very different meanings.

To flesh something out is a phrasal verb that means to give more substance to something.

• Your story has an exciting plot but the characters are a little one dimensional. You need to flesh them out a little more.

To flush something out is another phrasal verb. This one means to wash something out or scare something out of hiding.

• You must drink a lot of water to help flush out the toxins. (wash out meaning)
• The hunter used his spaniel to flush the pheasants out from the bushes. (scare out of hiding meaning)

Let’s look at some of the ways to use these expressions in English.

Using To Flesh Something Out in a Sentence

When to use flesh something out: Use flesh something out when you want to describing making something more substantial. If something has a good start, or a good outline, but needs more work to make it complete and well-rounded, that means it needs to be fleshed out.

For example:

• Your research project poses some interesting theories, but has only the minimum amount of evidence. You could flesh out your article by adding in more evidence.
• Your plan is to help improve the community by providing activities for the youth. That’s a good basic idea, but you need to flesh out your plan. What activities will you provide, and where will you get the funding? What proof, if any, do you have on how this will positively benefit our youth?

The most common collocations for flesh out are below:

• flesh out a plan
• flesh out a character
• flesh out a story
• flesh out an idea

One idiom that is synonymous to flesh out is make something meatier.

Using Flush Out in a Sentence

When to use flush something out: To flush something out means to use water or another liquid to wash out or expel something else. It can also mean to scare out of hiding.

For example:

• You drank way too much alcohol. You should try to flush it out of your system by drinking lots of water and some coffee.
• The queen had enemies amongst her royal court. She decided she would flush them out with a clever trick.

This phrasal verb usually appears in the context of hunting, toxins, or negative words for people including criminals, enemies, and insurgents.

Remembering To Flesh Something Out vs. To Flush Something Out

There are a few different ways that you can use to remember which of these expressions goes with which definition.

Flesh out uses the word flesh, which is synonymous with meat. Therefore, to make a story meatier, or to flesh out a story, means to add more substance to it. Also, writers often call the outline of their story the skeleton. Just as real skeletons are filled out with flesh, the stories or characters are as well.

Likewise, flush out uses flush. Most people are familiar with flush as the action used with toilets. Toilets flush away waste with water. Flush out often means to literally use water, or some other liquid, to wash away something else. It also means to be hidden and then revealed. In this case, you can think of the toilet contents being hidden within a house, until they are flushed, at which point they are revealed in the common sewers.

Outside Examples

• Alcala wrote that she would support a new trial, a new punishment phase or even a new hearing to further flesh out the issue. –Houston Chronicle
• Your DNA will also be matched with likely relatives, to help you flesh out your family tree, connect with others (if desired), and more. –USA Today
• Peev added that as the new kidney begins to flush out toxins in Johnson’s system, his energy levels and overall performance will improve greatly. –Chicago Sun Times
• The high temps are thought to aid with flexibility, and by sweating so much, you’ll flush out toxins and de-stress your mind. –Chicago Tribune

Quiz: To Flesh Out vs. To Flush Out

Instructions: Fill in the blanks with the correct expression, flesh out or flush out.

1. Your hero shows amazing character development, but your villain is flat. He doesn’t have much substance to him. Try to _______________________________.
2. Your soil has a lot of salt. You could _________________ by over-watering your crops.
3. Your plan has an excellent skeleton. All you need to do now is ____________________.

See answers below.

Article Summary

Should I use flesh out or flush out? Despite having similar pronunciations, and both being phrasal verbs, these words have no overlap in meaning.

• Flesh out means to add substance to.
• Flush out means to wash out or scare out of hiding.

Most people accidentally use flush out when they want flesh out, and not the other way around, so be especially careful not to do that.

Answers

1. flesh him out
2. flush it out
3. flesh it out