catch the drift

catch the drift

To understand the general meaning of some situation or piece of information. Since I don't have time at work to read news articles in full, I usually just read their blurbs online to catch the drift of what's going on in the world. I was so tired that I couldn't focus on the boss's speech during the meeting, but I think I caught the drift of what he was saying.
See also: catch, drift
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

catch/get somebody’s/the drift

(informal) understand the general meaning of what somebody says or writes: Do you catch my drift? My German isn’t very good, but I got the drift of what he said. He wasn’t the sort of boy you’d introduce to your mother, if you get my drift (= I have not told you all the details, but I am sure you can understand what I mean).
See also: catch, drift, get
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • catch/get somebody's/the drift
  • get the drift
  • get the drift of
  • get the drift of (something)
  • IYSWIM
  • the headlines
  • IYKWIM
  • take on a new significance
  • words to that effect
  • be lost in translation
References in periodicals archive
Finally, just in case the chosen people's liturgical police didn't catch the drift, Isaiah says that God will make priests out of some of them even though they don't meet the criteria of having been born Levites.
Of course now, a worn pair of jeans, shoes, or an old shirt would not qualify under these lofty categories, but you catch the drift. At the very least, the family concept lives on, and you stretch your peso.
Good thing, one event that eventually allowed me to catch the drift and even further grasp the importance of motherhood was when I chanced upon celebrity mothers, radio DJ Delamar Arias and commercial model Mikaela Lagdameo-Martinez during Ford Philippines's inaugural Driving Skills For Life (DSFL) customized program for parents and their off springs dubbed as: 'Ford Family Safety Day,' which was held at the MegaTent Events Venue in Libis, Quezon City.
They've got a load of talented writers to summarise the ideas contained in hundreds of top non-fiction classics, and boiled them down to the essentials, so you can catch the drift without putting in the graft.
Maybe it was the merry-go-round of 'hi's and 'hello's that eventually went nowhere, or the eventual disappointment that hits you when you see the signs that the guy you're talking to is crossing over to the afterlife (aka starting to ghost you, if you didn't catch the drift).
spread wings, those wings, those wings catch the drift.
CATCH THE DRIFT High in the Canadian Rockies, Emerald Lake Lodge won't provide you with email, cell service, or in-room TV.
You had to be a fly on the wall at recent packed houses at Johannesburg's Market Theatre for the staging of MacBeki: a Farce to be Reckoned With to catch the drift of how the societal cauldron bubbled as South Africa's satirists got to grips with the current crop of politicians in the run-up to the general elections.
Bana's Henry VIII is not seen nearly enough and it's only thanks to his performance we catch the drift of his personality.
Sayings like "Can you 'ear me, mother" and "I won't take me coat off, I'm not stopping" were funny to us because they were so unfunny, if you catch the drift.
Our vocabulary has been greatly enhanced by the scattering about of the "E's": e-commerce, e-books, e-food, e-stuff [ldots] well, you catch the drift. So when investors started chilling out on Internet stocks 2 months ago, there were a lot of dot-comers drowning their sorrows in the local coffeehouses.
Even thrown off the ship and thrown up by a fish, Jonah can't seem to catch the drift of the prophet business.
CATCH THE DRIFT The Wild West goes glam at the new Ranch at Rock Creek, about 1 1/4 hours southeast of Missoula.
We were now nearly at half time and credit Moseley for their ability to catch the drift. They were awarded a penalty in grandmother range, they put it in the corner and they were able to drive Adam Caves over.