cream off
cream off — idiom
1. to select the most capable people or the finest items from a larger set, reservi
to select the most capable people or the finest items from a larger set, reserving those for yourself so that others cannot share the benefit
The wealthy private school creamed off the brightest students from the surrounding towns.
Large corporations often cream off the most promising graduates before smaller firms can hire them.
cream off + direct object (graduates/staff)
The agency was accused of creaming off the safest loan applicants while rejecting higher-risk clients.
The online store creamed off the best used cars by paying local sellers instantly.
- cherry-pick
less negative; implies careful selection rather than unfair taking
- skim off
more informal; same dairy metaphor but often used for money
- poach
specifically about taking employees from another organisation
- share out
distribute equally rather than taking the best for oneself
文法句型
cream off + noun phrase (best people/things)
用法筆記
Frequently used in business and education contexts to criticise an organisation for taking the best resources before others can access them.
常見錯誤
cream off — phrasal verb
- cream offbase form
- creams off3rd person singular
- creaming off-ing form
- creamed offpast simple
1. to take a portion of something valuable — such as money, profits, or top perform
to take a portion of something valuable — such as money, profits, or top performers — from a larger pool and use it to give yourself an unfair or secret advantage
The finance director was caught creaming off company funds to pay for personal holidays.
Executives creamed off most of the annual bonus pool before junior staff received anything.
cream off + quantity phrase (most of the bonus pool)
The landlord creamed the rent subsidies off without making any repairs to the building.
An audit revealed that several managers creamed off thousands from the charity account.
- siphon off
more common; neutral-to-negative, often for money or resources
- skim
shorter and more informal; implies taking a small amount repeatedly
- divert
more neutral; does not carry the same negative judgement
- reinvest
put profits back into the business rather than taking them out
文法句型
cream off + noun phrase (money/profits)
cream + noun phrase + off
用法筆記
Often implies dishonest or unethical siphoning of money or resources. Common in British financial journalism. The separable form (cream + noun + off) is less frequent but acceptable.