1 files changed, 10 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/container-search/src/main/java/com/yahoo/prelude/query/CompositeItem.java b/container-search/src/main/java/com/yahoo/prelude/query/CompositeItem.java
index 907eabe60ce..64f759dcf9c 100644
--- a/container-search/src/main/java/com/yahoo/prelude/query/CompositeItem.java
+++ b/container-search/src/main/java/com/yahoo/prelude/query/CompositeItem.java
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.ListIterator;
+import java.util.Optional;
 
 
 /**
@@ -379,4 +380,13 @@ public abstract class CompositeItem extends Item {
         return terms;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Will return its single child if itself can safely be omitted.
+     *
+     * @return a valid Item or empty Optional if it can not be done
+     */
+    public Optional<Item> extractSingleChild() {
+        return getItemCount() == 1 ? Optional.of(getItem(0)) : Optional.empty();
+    }
+
 }