Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[pick a bone] See: BONE TO PICK.

[pick a fight] See: PICK A QUARREL.

[pick a hole in] or [pick holes in]{v. phr.}, {informal} To find a mistake in or things wrong with; criticize; blame. •/The witness said he had been walking in the moonlight last Sunday, but the lawyer picked a hole in what he said by proving that there was no moon and that it rained Sunday night./ •/Mary is always picking holes in what the other girls do./ Compare: FIND FAULT.

[pick and choose]{v.} To select with much care; choose in a fussy way; take a long time before choosing. •/He was never one to pick and choose./ •/Some people pick and choose to get something perfect, and some just because they can’t make up their minds./

[pick apart] or [pick to pieces]{v. phr.} To criticize harshly; find things wrong with; find fault with. •/After the dance, the girls picked Susan apart./ •/They picked the play to pieces./

[pick a pocket]{v. phr.} To steal by removing from the pocket of another. •/While in the train, somebody picked his pocket and took the last dollar he had./

[pick a/the lock]{v. phr.} To burglarize; open illegally; open a lock without the regular key. •/The robber got into the house by picking the lock./

[pick a quarrel]{v. phr.} To seek the opportunity for a fight or a quarrel. •/When Charlie has too much to drink, he has a tendency to pick a quarrel with whomever happens to be around./ See: PICK A FIGHT.

[pick at]{v.} 1. To reach or grasp for repeatedly. •/The baby kept picking at the coverlet./ 2. To eat without appetite; choose a small piece every little while to eat. •/He picked at his food./ 3. To annoy or bother continually; find fault with. •/They showed their displeasure by continually picking at her./ Syn.: PICK ON.

[pick holes in]{v. phr.} To criticize or find fault with something, such as a speech, a statement, a theory, etc. •/It is easier to pick holes in someone else’s argument than to make a good one yourself./

[pick-me-up]{n. phr.} Something you take when you feel tired or weak. •/John stopped at a drugstore for a pick-me-up after working three hours overtime./ •/Mary always carried a bar of chocolate in her pocketbook for a pick-me-up./

[pickpocket]{n.} A thief; a petty criminal who steals things and money out of people’s pockets on a bus, train, etc. •/In some big cities many poor children become pickpockets out of poverty./

[pick off]{v.} 1. To pull off; remove with the fingers. •/He picked off the burs that had stuck to his overcoat./ 2. To shoot, one at a time; knock down one by one. •/The sniper picked off the slower soldiers as they came out into the road./ 3. To catch a base runner off base by throwing the ball quickly to a fielder who tags him out. •/The pitcher turned around suddenly and threw to the second baseman to pick the runner off second base./ Compare: OFF BASE. 4. To catch and, especially in football, to intercept. •/Alert defenders picked off three of Jack’s passes./