connect the dots
English
Verb
connect the dots (third-person singular simple present connects the dots, present participle connecting the dots, simple past and past participle connected the dots)
- (literally) To attempt to complete a puzzle in which dots on a paper must be connected in a specific order so that the joining lines form a picture.
- 1991, Roberta Collier, The Little Animal Follow-The-Dots Coloring Book, Courier Corporation (→ISBN), page 3:
- To connect the dots, use a pen or pencil and draw a line from dot 1 to dot 2, from dot 2 to dot 3 and so on until all the dots are connected. You can try to guess what kind of animal is shown in the picture before you connect the dots.
- 1991, Roberta Collier, The Little Animal Follow-The-Dots Coloring Book, Courier Corporation (→ISBN), page 3:
- (by extension) To make connections in one's mind, arriving at a more holistic understanding of a situation.
- 2003 September 25, Thomas L. Friedman, “Connect The Dots”, in New York Times[1]:
- If only the Bush team connected the dots, it would see what a nutty war on terrorism it is fighting, explains Mr. Prestowitz.
Related terms
Further reading
- connect the dots on Wikipedia.Wikipedia