pick up the threads
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Resume or reestablish a relationship or activity after a break
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Tiếp tục hoặc tái lập lại mối quan hệ hoặc hoạt động sau thời gian nghỉ
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: pick up loose ends of string
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
After the argument, they picked up the threads of their friendship
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “pick up the threads” mean?
Resume or reestablish a relationship or activity after a break Literally: pick up loose ends of string
Is “pick up the threads” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.