pick at something • pick on something pick at something—1. keep pulling smth. or scratch it with one’s nails: He sat there idly ruminating and picking at the tablecloth. 2. (of food) take small, selected pieces now and again: He was just picking at his food, not eating it. pick on something—select or choose smth.: We seem to have picked on just the right spot for a picnic. pick someone off • pick someone out pick someone off—kill a person with a carefully aimed shot: Two hundred marksmen have been assigned to a squad designed to pick off snipers. pick someone out—1. choose smb. from a group: I hoped to be able to pick out the winner of the Grand National when the weights appeared. 2. recognize a person among others: Almost instantly, my searching eyes had picked her out in the crowd. pick someone’s brains • prey on someone’s mind pick someone’s brains—get ideas or information about a sub- ject by asking a person: I would love to pick your brains , so to speak, and see what kind of innovative ideas you could come up with. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase brain someone—(sl.) hit smb. hard on the head (often used as a threat): The constable threatened to brain him if he didn’t shut up. prey on someone’s mind—(of anxieties, losses, etc.) afflict or worry a person: When the servants had withdrawn, I found that the unhappy result of the duel was still preying on his mind . pick something off • pick something out pick something off—remove smth. by picking, scratching, or plucking: Pick off all the feathers before you cook the duck. pick something out—1. = pick something off: I was about to put the duck in boiling water in order to pick out the feath- ers…. 2. choose smth. from a group: We’ve picked out the best toys and trinkets to give to dad this holiday. 3. recognize or distinguish smth.: Do you need a wide panorama, or would a telephoto be more useful to pick out distant detail? pick something out of a hat • pull something out of a hat pick something out of a hat—select smth. completely at ran- dom: When asked how they chose Juneau to be the state cap- ital, she said, “I don’t know, I think they picked it out of a hat .” pull something out of a hat—produce smth. unexpected as if by magic: If you want to help Thomas, you’ve got to argue a lot of silly problems that he pulls out of a hat . Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase pull off a hat-trick—(usually of sports) have three suc- cesses in a row: This thoroughbred is ridden by Peslier, who has already pulled off a hat-trick of three consecutive Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe successes. See also: have something under one’s hat / keep something under one’s hat. pick up on someone • pick up with someone pick up on someone—1. (Racing ) draw near a person; begin to overtake a competitor: Benedict, knowing that he had the fastest car, was inclined to allow Chalmers to pick up on him…. 2. (U.S. coll.) understand or appreciate a person: After Baudelaire picked up on him, Edgar Allen Poe had enormous influence on French literature and art. pick up with someone—enter into conversation and make acquaintance with smb. casually met: So you’ve let your Polly go and pick up with some young man from town. Note: Neither expression correlates in meaning with the phrase pick someone up1. take a person along with one, into one’s company or into a vehicle (collecting him from a place): I remem- ber picking him up from work that night to take him home (he had no car). 2. form an acquaintance with a person casually or informally, especially with the intention of having a sexual relationship: She wished she had not picked Markie up in the train and given him her address. 3. (coll.) find fault with a per- son; call smb. to account: I am picked up for saying that the initiative in the Steamer case should have come from the stew- ards. 4. (sl.) rob, cheat, or swindle a person: There are loose characters lurking about, on the look-out for strangers, to “pick them up ,” as they term it, which, in other words, means to rob them. 5. cause a person to revitalize; serve as a “pick-me- up”: Have you had your tea? A cup of tea will pick you up . 6. (sl.) arrest or apprehend a person: Things start to go badly for him. His boys … get picked up for every minor charge in the book. pick up stakes • raise the stakes pick up stakes —(also: pull up stakes) leave one’s home, etc. and move on to another place: “I’m assuming you’re in a posi- tion to pick up stakes in a hurry.” “As long as it will take to pack two bags.” raise the stakes —(Gambling ) lay a higher stake than one’s opponent: You can bet against that particular player, contin- ually raising the stakes , until all the other players are “raised out.” piece of cake • pieces of the same cake piece of cake—said of smth. done easily, with little effort: Cycling in the hills was a piece of cake . It was the cobblestone streets that finally wore us out. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase slice of the cake—(also: slice of the pie) used of assets, profits, etc. to be apportioned or shared out: German labor may be about to demand a larger slice of the economic recovery cake . pieces of the same cake—said of things that have the same characteristics or qualities: Both physical and psychological violation or bullying would be pieces of the same cake . piece of work • work piece piece of work—1. a product of work: They drove over the Golden Gate Bridge … and she was enchanted. “What a hand- some piece of work , isn’t it, Luke?” 2. a difficult task or busi- ness: How do you expect to get along when it’s such a piece of work to make you shake hands? 3. (coll.) a commotion; a noisy display: What are you making all this piece of work for? 4. (coll., in the phrase “a nasty piece of work”) an unpleasant person: He was a nasty piece of work all right. A real black- mailer. work piece—a thing worked on with a machine or tool: Place work piece in a vice or on a flat surface whenever pos- sible. pigs in a blanket • pigs in a poke pigs in a blanket—(U.S. diners) 1. stuffed cabbage: Pigs in a blanket to me are also called stuffed cabbage or in Czech Aus- trian, “Holupki” … it just depends on where you are from. 2. a ham sandwich or a sausage wrapped in a pancake: Kids will beg for these little Pigs in a Blanket for breakfast! This recipe is so quick and easy you can even let the kids roll them up… pigs in a poke—1. (used in allusion to the phrase “buy a pig in a poke”) said of smth. bought or obtained without seeing it: Don’t give us “pigs in a poke ,” in other words, web links that we have to open before we know what is in them. 2. (U.S. cuisine) baked potatoes stuffed with sausage: I had to choose pick at something – 266 –