clean (= ate all the meat
from the bones). MIG #741 ft ffMo 4 [V, VN] (iNAm£)
= PLUCK v.(3) ITilBB .pick and 'choose to choose only those
things that you like or want very much MM; You have to take
any job you can get—you
can’t pick and choose. ft H
ftft'AXftffiftft'A pick sb’s
'brains {informal) to ask sb a lot of
questions about sth because they know more about the subject than you do (
lAMJA^ ) pick a fight/ 'quarrel (with sb) to deliberately start
a fight or an argument with sb MfijlJL; Mf&M; pick 'holes in sth to find the weak
points in sth such as a plan, suggestion, etc. M$IJL; MM: It was easy
to pick holes in his
arguments.
H o pick a lock to open a lock without
a key, using sth such as a piece of wire ( pick sb’s
pocket to steal sth from sb’s
pocket without them noticing ; MHgJL — related noun pickpocket pick up the 'bill, 'tab, etc. (for sth) (informal) to pay for sth : The company picked up
the tab for his hotel room. A A flfc # M tt $ o 0 The
government will continue to pick up college fees for some students.
pick up the 'pieces to return or to help
sb return to a normal situation, particularly after a shock or a disaster ( M You
cannot live your children’s
lives for them; you can only be there to pick up the pieces when things go
wrong.
RtimtbMMMftimo pickup speed to go faster jjpM pick up the threads to return to an
earlier situation or way of life after an interruption pick your 'way (across, along, among,
over, through sth) to walk carefully,
choosing the safest, driest, etc. place to put your feet 7A
Hf Hr
fj : She picked her way
delicately over the rough ground. M77Jilf
pick a 'winner 1 to choose a horse,
etc. that you think is most likely to win a race )
2 (informal) to make a
very good choice ; '&'$■
jgffj — more at bone n., piece n., shred n.
pick at sth 1 to eat food slowly,
taking small amounts or bites because you are not hungry ffif fe; ( 0 ) 7 P 2 to pull or touch sth several
times ( h'S.M ) ilt: He tried to undo the
knot by picking at it with his fingers. SfEM
.pick sb^'off (informal) to aim carefully at a
person, an animal or an aircraft, especially one of a group, and then shoot
them ft ( @
M ) IfS : Snipers were picking off innocent civilians. fflAAAMAAWT-Kilj'
ft?o .pick sth-—'off to remove sth from sth
such as a tree, a plant, etc. A : Pick off all the dead
leaves. jGttn+AnWM.
'pick on sb/sth 1 to treat sb
unfairly, by blaming, criticizing or punishing them ( $I^A ) Of ■ 1&M <1 : She was picked on by
the other girls because
of her size. M 0 A 7 A A 31 o 2 to
choose sb/sth ; jg; A : He picked on two of
her statements which he said were untrue.
.pick sb/sth*-*'out 1 to
choose sb/sth carefully from a group of people or things PSTTl select : She
was picked out from
dozens of applicants for the job. jtffe
/AAM o He picked out
the ripest peach for me. ffein MM' 7 7#^ ill 7 2 to recognize
sb/sth from among other people or things iA & A; tb : See if you can
pick me out in this photo. 5#Mli7t£ffiMAU£A,0.f(>T‘±iAftAo
o note at identify .pick sth*-*'out 1 to play a tune on a musical instrument
slowly without using written music ( )
ttttttL## ( Aft) : He picked out the
tune on the piano with one
finger, IZlfi — 77#i
7 ^ #±jf 'If # tb 7 3l?AI|7o 2 to discover or recognize sth after
careful study ( ) ifriU, iAiR
$\\: Read the play again and pick out the major
themes.
fEAMMAAo 3 to make sth easy to see or hear JE ( ^c0/rM ) : a sign painted
cream, with the lettering
picked out in black £p H H @ H
.pick sth*-*1 over I .pick through sth to examine a group of
things carefully, especially to choose the ones you want jfi 7 M : Pick over the lentils and
remove any little stones, j? M M Sft, fE
7 W 7 M & A o 0 I picked over the facts of the case.
&ft£Wftf£4-M
.pick ’up 1 to get better,
stronger, etc.; to improve & #; ftkk; itj'jg: Trade usually picks up
in the spring. 1g J3 —$7# AIU o The
wind is picking up now. M it jR.^S1J^A7o
0 Sales
have picked up 14% this year.
14%o — related noun pickup(3) 2 (informal) to start again; to
continue WMJfUi',
Let’s pick up where we left off yesterday, Rg Cl M. Vfe A ft Go 3 (informal, especially NAmT) to put things away
and make things neat, especially for sb else (A® A ) itftJn , il: All I seem to do is cook, wash and pick up
after the kids.
##&iftJiM7»ti§JLo
.pick
'up | .pick sth 'up to answer a phone The
phone rang and rang and
nobody picked up. 7
Xp$), ffi'&A^co .pick sb*-*up 1 to go somewhere in
your car and collect sb who is waiting for you ( 77 ) W: A £*771 collect : III pick you up at
five,
M 31A M 3(tl|0 2 to allow sb to get into your vehicle and take them
somewhere i± A ^ 7; fn : The bus picks up
passengers outside the airport. A ^ A 7 7 ^ /h S ii.
3 to rescue sb from the sea or from a dangerous place,
especially one that is difficult to reach ( /A$SJI A lifeboat picked up
survivors. 4 (informal, often disapproving) to start talking to sb
you do not know because you want to have a sexual relationship with them (
77A ) foilll, He goes to clubs to
pick up girls.
—related noun pickup(2) 5 {informal) (of the police W ^) to arrest sb it ffi
; MM: He
was picked up by police and taken to the station for questioning. ^7MfnJiSA70 6 to make
sb feel better f AtI; MM: Try this—it will pick
you up. —related
noun pick-me-up .pick sb/sth*-*'up 1 to take hold of
sb/sth and lift them/it up 737 Mfe: She went over to the crying
child and picked her up. MAI'J
U, fEMM7©Ao 2 to receive
an electronic signal, sound or picture jg.itfr ( ff R,
AW. ®#^) : We were able to pick up the BBC
World Service.
.pkksth-'up i to get information
or a skill by chance rather than by making a deliberate effort (.#!$ ) MflJ, njfl'J, 77: to pick up bad habits 77±7/! 1® 0 Here’s a tip I picked
up from my mother.
0
She picked up Spanish when she was living
in
2 to identify or
recognize sth PiA; iRRfJ th: Scientists can now
pick up early signs of the disease.
3 to collect sth from a place
1
picked up my coat from the
cleaners. fSc/AASfcWl/® 7
— related noun pickup(4) 4 to buy sth, especially cheaply or by chance ( : We
managed to pick up a few
bargains at the auction. 0 7 ik#o 5 to get or obtain sth %; ^ 7 ; A 3\: I seem to have picked
up a terrible cold from somewhere. 7ftfeA^±7f
0 0
I picked up £30 in tips today. 30
6 to find and follow a route MI'J; it#: to pick up the scent
of an animal 0 We can
pick up the motorway in a
few miles. Jp
Clift ill SI
Ai&o 7 to return to an earlier subject or
situation in order to continue
it HJPJ (AM ) ; #c SH 3A £*771 take UP: He picks up this theme again in later
chapters of the book. 7 4$
W IB
%
$, ftfe XII HI ?!] & 7
AM±o 8 to notice sth that is not very obvious; to see
sth that you are looking for A 7 ; A M ; M 5U:
I picked up the faint sound of a car in the distance, ffc off f'J ® # A it ii W A 7 A o 9 (especially
things away neatly i|£M; II:
Will
you pick up all your toys? 10
(
put things away and make
a room neat ifcJn la]: to pick up a room .pick ‘up on sth 1 to notice
sth and perhaps react to
it 3S7; ;?S iR M: She