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What is "pan out"

The Collaborative International Dictionary
pan out

pan out \pan` out"\ (p[a^]n`out"),

  1. v. i. To succeed; as, the project didn't pan out.

  2. To turn out (profitably or unprofitably); to result; to develop; as, the investigation, or the speculation, panned out poorly. [Slang, U. S.]

Wiktionary
pan out

vb. 1 (context usually transitive English) To separate and recover (valuable minerals) by swirling dirt or crushed rock in a pan of water, in the manner of a traditional prospector seeking gold. 2 (context idiomatic usually intransitive English) To succeed; to proceed according to plan; to result or end up.

WordNet
pan out

  1. v. be a success; "The idea panned out"

  2. wash dirt in a pan to separate out the precious minerals [syn: pan, pan off]

Usage examples of "pan out".

I pulled a loaf pan out of a cupboard and glanced at Buddy, who was stroking his dimpled chin and frowning.

Then they took to their own bed, where, as the snow did its sums on the windowsill, they snuggled and talked, eventually formulating a plan of action: they would get Pan out of Europe.

Tiffany dropped him back into her pocket and pulled her frying pan out of her sack.

He squirmed free from under the car and pulled the pan out with him.

Old woman, she married again, and I heard that didn't pan out, neither.