to have one's pick of sthescoger or elegir lo que uno quiere de algo
she had her pick of the booksshe could have had her pick of any man in the roomhere is an actress who could have her pick of any partKlein could have had his pick of the world's top modelsto [take] one's pick (of from sth)
take your pick!¡escoja or elija lo que quiera!
take your pick of or from ten luxury hotelsescoja or elija el que quiera de entre diez hoteles de lujo
you can take your pick of many beautiful beachesaccountants can take their pick of company cars
2(best)
the pick of sthlo mejor de algo;la flor y nata de algo
the pick of the latest video releasesthe pick of the catch after a day's fishingthese soldiers are the pick of the nation's youththe boys here are the pick of the under-15 cricketers in the country
the pick of the bunch or the croplo mejor de grupo
next week we look at new video releases and tell you which is the pick of the bunchshe was the pick of the crop that graduated in that yearShaun looks the pick of the crop at the momentshe uses the pick of the crop from the vegetable garden in her cooking
3(also pickaxe) (tool)pico (m);piqueta (f)
I got torn and bleeding hands working with a pick and shovel
4(US)(plectrum)púa (f)
when he played jazz guitar, Montgomery didn't use a pick - he played with his thumbthe happy sound of fingers or picks plucking and strumming the strings of a banjoice-pick: (change hwd to icepick)
pick a card, any cardescoge or elige una carta, cualquiera
you picked a perfect day for it/he was picked to handle the case/ because of his wide experience of serious crimeif we pick your letter you receive a free giftI had deliberately picked a city with a tropical climatenext time let's pick somebody who can fighthave you picked a dress for the wedding?pick a number which you will easily remember without writing it downhave you picked a name yet?they haven't picked the team for the New Zealand tour yetMr Nowell had picked ten people to interview for six sales jobs in Londonthey will meet next week to pick a candidate for the November election
to pick a fight (with sb)buscar pelea or pleito (con algn);(argue)discutir (con algn)
he picked a fight with a waiter and landed in jaila big, muscular man, a guy only an idiot would want to pick a fight withI wasn't trying to pick a fight with youdo you want to pick a fight?you may pick a fight with your spouse, nag the kids and be generally unpleasant to all around youPresident Bush today denied that the US wants to pick a fight with Iraq
to pick one's way through/across sthabrirse camino cuidadosamente a través de algo
he began to pick his way through the rubbleI picked my way through the crowd of reportersthey had to pick their way across a minefieldI picked my way across the terrace over smashed roof tiles and plastershoppers picked their way carefully along the icy sidewalksit involved picking our way through files going back 25 yearsthe climbers picked their way along the narrow mountain ledgehe began to pick his way over the tumbled rockshe picked his way through the darknessafter getting his key at the reception desk, /he had to pick his way through the luggage to reach the lift/the room was littered with toys - he had to pick his way throughshe had to hop across ditches and pick her way between large pipes and rolls of wirethe path then picks its way over grassy banks below the cliffsshe picked her way [among] the puddles
to pick a winnerescoger or elegir un ganador;escoger bien
I think she picked a winner with her new boyfriendcreo que con su nuevo novio escogió bien
/she helped him pick the winners in a raffle/ for children with leukaemiahe said he had a system for picking the winner in the DerbyI am hopeless at picking winners
how nice of the children to pick her some flowerswe picked wild flowers for my wedding bouquetI got a job picking grapesshe picked some blackberries for her motherhe helps his mother pick fruitI liked helping to pick mushrooms in the wet fieldsa painting of two girls picking cherries off a tree
3(lift, remove)
to pick sth [from] sthhe picked the volume from the shelfshe picked two apples from the baskethe picked the napkin from his lap and placed it alongside his plate
to pick sth off the groundrecoger algo del suelo
let me pick that bit of fluff off your collardeja que te quite esa pelusa del cuello
he picked his blazer off a chairThe dog was contentedly picking the meat off a large marrow bone
to pick o.s. off the floor or groundlevantarse del suelo
as I picked myself off the ground I saw him disappear round the cornershe picked herself off the floorto pick sth [out] of sth
to pick names out of a hatsacar nombres de un sombrero
he picked the cobwebs out of her hairI picked a book out of the bookcaseI pick all the stray bits of meat out of the grinder
4(make)[+hole]hacer
you've picked a hole in your jerseyto pick [holes] in sthyou can pick holes in most of his argumentshe's constantly picking holes in her reasoninghe picked holes in the team's performance against Poland
5[+scab, spot]toquetear;[+lock]forzar or abrir con ganzúa;[+guitar, banjo]puntear
she started picking a spot on her chinHenry was picking the scab on his elbowBen had no trouble picking the lockhe picked each lock deftly, and rifled the papers within each drawerI learned to pick a five-string banjo at the age of 7 or 8
to pick sb's brainsexprimir el coco a algn (informal)
I'd like to pick your brains about somethingI've come to pick your brains"So what's up?" said Vaughn. "You said you wanted to pick my brains"
their bones had been picked clean by the birdslos pájaros habían dejado limpios los huesos
to pick one's nosehurgarse la nariz
Edgar, don't pick your nose, dear
to pick sb's pocketrobar algo a algn del bolsillo
areas where little urchins lived out of garbage pails, dealt in stolen goods, and picked pockets
to pick one's teethmondarse or escarbarse los dientes
he had just had a meal and was picking his teeth after ithe took a long knife from his boot and started to pick his teeth with it
you can pick from a range of 36 coloursvoters can pick from a bewildering number of political parties
to pick and chooseponerse a escoger or elegir;ser muy exigente
you can't pick and chooseno puedes ponerte a escoger or elegir;no puedes ser muy exigente
a good secretary can pick and choose her workhe can afford to pick and choose his workthey can't be allowed to pick and choose which UN resolutions they'll obeyprivate schools can pick and choose which pupils they acceptwe, the patients, cannot pick and choose our doctorsyou always did like to pick and choose
2(examine)
to pick [through] sth
dogs pick through the garbage on the streetslos perros hurgan en or por la basura de las calles
survivors of the earthquake picked through the rubble of what used to be their homesa few shoppers picking through the mounds of red pears, ripe peaches and apples
