# bolt to the bran

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/bolt-to-the-bran
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To examine thoroughly, so as to separate or discover everything important.

## Examples

- You need to bolt to the bran to find the truth.
- I bolt to the bran each job application to find the best candidate.
- She bolts to the bran to understand the difficult instructions for the new machine.
- The investigators had to bolt to the bran to uncover the hidden errors in the financial report.
- Before we sign the contract, the legal team will bolt to the bran every clause to ensure we are fully protected.
- The mechanic had to bolt to the bran to figure out why the engine was making that strange clicking sound.
- The historian spent years in the archives, determined to bolt to the bran every detail of the forgotten treaty.

## Origin

From the verb bolt, meaning to sieve or to sift, a term derived from the mechanical process of separating flour from the coarser husks of grain. To bolt to the bran describes the act of sifting a matter so thoroughly that only the refuse remains, a metaphor drawn from the milling industry’s habit of passing meal through a cloth or sieve until the finest particles are removed.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.