I. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
foot the bill/pick up the bill (= pay for something, especially when you do not want to )
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Taxpayers will probably have to foot the bill.
gain/gather/pick up speed (= go faster )
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The Mercedes was gradually picking up speed.
ice pick
pick a fight (= deliberately start a fight )
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The guy tried to pick a fight with Jack.
pick a quarrel (= deliberately start one )
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Members of the gang were picking quarrels with strangers.
pick flowers
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I'll pick some flowers to put on the table.
pick sb’s brains (= ask someone for ideas )
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I thought I’d pick Greg's brains about what to take with us.
pick up a bug (= catch one )
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He seems to pick up every bug going.
pick up a tip
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If you listen to the show, you’ll pick up some really useful gardening tips.
pick up an accent
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During his stay in England, he had picked up an English accent.
pick up the telephone
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As soon as she got home, she picked up the telephone and dialled his number.
pick up/lift the receiver
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She picked up the receiver and dialled his number.
pick up/scoop up an award (= to get an award – used especially in news reports )
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Angelina Jolie scooped up the award for best actress.
pick up/snap up a bargain (= find one )
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You can often pick up a bargain at an auction.
pick your nose (= remove substances from inside your nose with your finger )
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Stop picking your nose, Freddy.
pick your way through a minefield ( also navigate/negotiate a minefield ) (= behave in a careful way to avoid problems in a difficult situation )
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The guide helps you pick your way through the minefield of buying a new car.
receive/pick up a signal
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The antenna that will pick up the signals is a 12-metre dish.
take up/pick up/continue (sth) etc where sb left off (= continue something that has stopped for a short time )
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Barry took up the story where Justine had left off.
the wind picks up ( also the wind gets up British English ) (= becomes stronger )
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The rain beat down and the wind was picking up.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
off
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Red Deer Commission stalkers have been helping estate staff in the Angus glens pick off marauding deer destroying farmlands.
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The photographers stormed the railing and took aim like a starved infantry picking off fish from a bridge.
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The defeated Arab states, fearful of being picked off one by one, insisted on indirect and collective negotiations.
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It was Cooper picking off the ball and feeding Thompson.
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Defries was picking off the survivors.
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In the first quarter, cornerback Deion Sanders picked off Young and got by most of the 49ers in a 31-yard return.
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This means you can shoot your way down a line of troops, picking off each one in turn.
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The caterpillars can be picked off , but their coloring makes them difficult to see, especially when they are small.
out
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You can also pick out small pieces of grass or leaf.
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Philadelphia and Baltimore were just cities picked out of a hat.
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And the new geography of this steeper decline can be picked out from Table 2.2.
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I have picked out the flowers.
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There's no point picking out individual climbs - they're all good.
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Finally, she picked out the Poulenc Gloria, as she had known she would.
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Alice came in store and picked out the color yellow.
up
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The Everglades kite in Florida picks up snails and carries them off to a feeding perch.
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Maybe he used a towel to pick up the iron teakettle.
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Miss Braithwaite had picked up the gap in Hereward's curriculum vitae fast enough.
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I decided that since Carlo was lost to me, maybe I could pick up some one else at the party.
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He picked up a rubber glove whose open end was sucking in brown greasy water.
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A couple of inmates were picking up leaves from around the graves, sweeping them into a large black sack.
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The first man picked up the end and threaded it through the loop on his leg iron.
■ NOUN
bill
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Everything depended on contributors picking up the bill in ten, twenty or thirty years.
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After its shareholder equity turned negative last year, parent Dasa started picking up the bills .
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There is a growing, often unstated, anticipation that the private sector will pick up the bill for public services.
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But remember - raid your savings now and Santa won't pick up the bill .
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If that involves an overnight stay the scheme will pick up the bill for accommodation.
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The authorities must ensure that taxpayers and passengers do not pick up the bill for the company's mistakes.
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It is the local authorities that must pick up the bill for those problems.
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Who is going to pick up the bill for all their tommy rot and skulduggery, Miss Green?
book
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They have picked up the wrong book and are probably in the wrong bookstore.
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He picked up a book on the floor... something highbrow.
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He picked up a book on juggling which his daughter had brought home, and 4 months later he's teaching others.
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I picked up the book Kip had been reading.
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She picked up her book , looked at it sightlessly, and then stuck it over her face.
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I picked up a book and threw it across the room.
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Martin offered to have that too, but was instructed to pick up her books instead, so be did.
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You pick up the book , holding it in your hands, turning it over, feeling its slightness or its heft.
fight
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We adults do the same: we come home from work and start complaining or picking a fight .
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Had never picked a fight in his life.
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Barton Lynch's manager had once picked a fight with him.
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From a lack of communication, parents are more likely to misunderstand, blame, or pick fights with one another.
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Anthony Ryan was known in his family as able to pick a fight with his own fingernails.
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The first thing Vicious does is start picking fights with these guys who are supposed to protect him.
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You pick your side and fight for it.
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He loved to pick arguments and fights .
flower
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He picked up the flower and held it to the light, a cluster of faded crimson petals with attenuated stalks.
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I have picked out the flowers .
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We're hoping, there's just a chance, she left her car to pick wild flowers .
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But when she picked the flowers , the brothers turned into ravens and flew away.
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She picked a bunch of flowers for Alan once.
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The Khmers held hands as they advanced and sometimes picked flowers .
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Help to protect them by following these rules: Don't pick or uproot wild flowers .
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Red decided to pick some flowers for her grandmother along the way.
nose
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He wouldn't be allowed to fart or pick his nose or put his feet on the table.
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Centuries later the light brought two of the shepherds, the tall one picking his nose , and Douthwaite smirking.
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Edwina Currie was opening her post, Sir James Spicer was picking his nose .
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I just saw a man trying not to pick his nose behind his newspaper!
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Please don't pick your nose at the table.
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The young Eric was looking away and picking his nose , looking bored.
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The toilet stank of urine, and at one point a chef was seen picking his nose while preparing food.
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Both pick the nose of rock credibility and flick rolled-up bogies at its established figureheads.
phone
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Very quietly and gently she picked the phone up, and dialled the number of his school.
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But when he picks up the phone and dials her number, there is no answer.
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On impulse I picked up the phone and rang her, hoping I still had the right number.
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She hoped he picked up the phone quickly.
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One day, when I least expected it, I picked up the phone and he was on the other end.
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Time to pick up the phone , Carl.
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They can zero in on this big wall map and pick any phone they want, and record the conversation.
piece
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I picked up the pieces myself.
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He came over to me, picked up the piece of paper before me, and sat back down on the bed.
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As proved by history, women are the ones who have to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of war.
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Upon release, however, he slowly picked up the pieces of his life and rebuilt his career.
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In her motherly concerned way, she was cosseting him as he tried to pick up the pieces of his life.
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Gardeners regularly stroll the grounds, picking up stray pieces of trash and trimming unruly bushes.
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Then the red mists cleared and she sank to her knees, picking up the pieces , moaning softly.
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You can also pick out small pieces of grass or leaf.
receiver
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Ven was her first thought when she picked up the receiver .
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In the hallway my hand trembled as I picked up the receiver .
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She picked up the receiver and spoke into it.
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I ran out into the hallway, picked up the receiver , and it was Minna.
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She picked up the receiver and dialled Tom's number.
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She could roll over the bed and pick up the receiver .
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Her mind made up, she picked up the receiver and dialled the number of the separate school.
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She picked up the receiver , dialled Giles Carnaby's number, and then replaced the receiver before the connection was made.
speed
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Of course, good melody will sound fine at any tempo, so play slowly and gradually pick up speed .
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As they picked up speed along the main tarmac road it was already 3 a.m.
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The coach picked up speed as it rattled and jolted down to Forty-second Street.
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The object thereupon begins to expand, and it will rapidly pick up speed .
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He picked up speed fast, and when we got to the clearing again, he banked very hard to the left.
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Brian Reade is back tomorrow Over the hill and picking up speed !
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A slowing economy lessens the threat that inflation will pick up speed .
tab
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In addition, my company will pick up the tab for all legal and moving expenses.
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His response is to pick up their tab .
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He wouldn't pick up the tab for anyone else.
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Often, the book publisher, not the author, picks up the tab .
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With Lissa's money I picked up his tabs .
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When the check comes, the lobbyists almost always pick up the tab .
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Normally, developers paying a barrister to represent them at an inquiry must pick up the tab .
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I wonder to myself as I pick up the tab for breakfast.
team
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He was not attempting to pick the team for tonight's First Division match against Wimbledon.
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Within a month, the committee had picked eight teams to tackle the first round of breakthroughs.
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So nobody's singled out - I don't pick out one team .
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The bus driver was late picking up the team from the hotel.
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Once again, Gould's ability to pick his team was to prove invaluable.
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So we picked quality for the teams to work on.
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But again they picked a team of boys, as they did in the last two World Cups.
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When they picked teams for outdoor games she and I were always the last two left standing by the wire-mesh fence.
telephone
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When Kee left the room Conway picked up the telephone .
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One day during the late winter or early spring of 1920, Margarett picked up the telephone .
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The principal of the public high school happened to pick up the telephone himself.
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Now, they need only to pick up their telephones to share their views with the world.
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Then taking off his tunic and loosening his tie, he picked up the telephone .
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He picked up the telephone and asked for his bill to be prepared, and for somebody to carry his luggage.
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Laura picked up the bedside telephone and dialled the number.
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Such was the case of a man who recently picked up an emergency telephone on the bridge and threatened suicide.
thread
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He picked up the thread and followed it.
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She gradually started to pick up the threads of her life.
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Enough to do picking up the threads of his own life.
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They talked non-stop in an elaborate relay race, one picking up the thread as soon as the other paused for breath.
way
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Every now and again rescue teams of young people would pick their way downhill with a bandaged pilgrim on a stretcher.
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The trails up toward the stone sheds were slippery and I picked my way along slowly.
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They picked their way through broken pieces of furniture, their feet crunching across splintered glass and wood.
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Delaney unbuckled his webbing and stood up, picking his way forward past the life rafts racked ready for the drop.
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Mrs Helgert picks her way carefully out of the rose bed, and I lay the roses in her arms.
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We pick our way across the cement floor and into the battered portacabin.
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The second was not looking at the Golden Tube material I picked up on the way out until several weeks later.
wind
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The rain beat down and the wind was picking up.
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A wind picks up, so we decide to raise the sails.
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The wind began to pick up again, moaning round their ears.
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Observed by a lone seal we headed west, the wind now beginning to pick up.
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The wind picked up that evening and big grey swells came charging in from the south-west.
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The wind has picked up a bit, and there is a light snow falling.
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They lose their keen sense of smell and direction when the wind picks up like this.
winner
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Experience to date and motivational goal data give us our greatest chance of picking a winner .
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A technology Strategy does not mean that a government has to pick winners and losers.
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As a result, everyone believes that they have a chance of picking the winner .
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You will certainly pick the winner , but at what cost?
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Softbank claims that it is better at picking winners and that it is buying into a growth industry.
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Technology development strategies are designed to pick technology winners .
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Trust you, Dwight, to pick a winner , and pick him before the rest of us have heard of him!
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Suddenly, Labour wobbled as it appeared that the Tories might have picked a genuine winner .
■ VERB
try
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She had tried to pick up Rudolf.
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When I tried to pick him up he squirmed wildly, jerked away and threw himself to the ground again.
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The waiter who'd tried to pick her up that first morning wasn't on duty.
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How Linda fell on to the track and he tried to pick her up just as the train bore down on them.
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As she tried to pick her way over frozen puddles, she regretted her decision to wear high heels instead of boots.
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No one on the farm spoke Hindi so it seemed more sensible to try to pick up Marwari from the servants.
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Perhaps I should try to pick up a little extra at Macready's tables.
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Just let your imagination run and try to pick up the underlying message. 2.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
be drawn/pulled/picked out of the/a hat
freshly ground/picked/made etc
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A garland of freshly picked marigolds hung from the mirror.
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A good addition to dried apricot fool is a spoonful or two of freshly ground almonds.
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Add the mascarpone Reheat, adding the mascarpone and correcting the seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
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Drizzle with a tablespoon or so of olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
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Season generously with freshly ground pepper and add salt to taste.
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Squeeze over some lemon juice and add freshly ground pepper.
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Sure enough, inside we found some beautiful zucchini and tomatoes, freshly picked from a nearby garden.
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There were dates and a delicious bowl of freshly made cottage cheese.
get/pick/build up steam
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But Dehlavi takes his time getting up steam , leaving a good 20 minutes of surplus slack in these two hours.
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Cons: Just when the bobsled builds up steam , brakes on the track slow it down.
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If the economy is picking up steam , the recovery may be nipped in the bud by renewed Fed tightening.
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Indications the economy may be picking up steam hurt bonds by sparking concern inflation may accelerate, eroding bonds' fixed payments.
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Millionaire publisher Steve Forbes, who is suddenly picking up steam ?
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The black-out protest is expected to pick up steam after the president signs the bill.
have a bone to pick with sb
pick up the tab
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Airlines will have to pick up the tab for new safety regulations.
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Usually the book publisher, not the author, picks up the tab for a publicity tour.
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We all went out to dinner, and Adam picked up the tab .
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He wouldn't pick up the tab for anyone else.
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I wonder to myself as I pick up the tab for breakfast.
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In addition, my company will pick up the tab for all legal and moving expenses.
▪
Normally, developers paying a barrister to represent them at an inquiry must pick up the tab .
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Often, the book publisher, not the author, picks up the tab .
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Thus, port officials argue, the city should have picked up the tab for fixing the recently revealed environmental problems.
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When the check comes, the lobbyists almost always pick up the tab .
pick up the thread(s)
▪
Enough to do picking up the threads of his own life.
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He picked up the thread and followed it.
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She gradually started to pick up the threads of her life.
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They talked non-stop in an elaborate relay race, one picking up the thread as soon as the other paused for breath.
pick up/take up the gauntlet
take up/pick up the slack
the best/pick of the bunch
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But me third was the best of the bunch .
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Either they are one of the best of the bunch at home, or they make their name abroad.
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Even these modest broadcasts show only the best of the bunch .
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He may be the best of the bunch .
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It's also the best of the bunch for multi-processing, he says.
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Nevertheless as an introduction it is the best of the bunch .
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Woolwich is the best of the bunch , trading at a multiple to future earnings of 10.3.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
Pick a number from one to five.
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Do you think he might pick another woman for the Supreme Court?
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I'll pick a few flowers to take to mum's.
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In the end, Katie picked the blue dress.
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Joe picked Steve and Terry to be on his team.
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Laura's out in the garden picking tomatoes.
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Let me pick the movie tonight - I don't want to see another comedy.
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Migrant workers come to the orchard each autumn to pick apples.
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The class was divided into four teams, and each group was asked to pick a leader.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
After two or three days I started picking up.
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By Oscar night, Taylor had recovered sufficiently to pick up hers for Butterfield 8.
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It has already made behind-the-scenes preparations to share the job of picking up the pieces.
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Maybe he used a towel to pick up the iron teakettle.
▪
Republicans seized control of both houses of Congress, picking up a whopping 117 House seats along the way.
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Vietcong couriers slipped into Saigon to pick up his reports, which he wrote in invisible ink made from starch.
II. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
draft
▪
As compensation, the Lakers are awarded a 1979 first-round draft pick , which they use to select Magic Johnson.
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The Flyers might let Lindros go to Toronto and accept draft-pick compensation.
▪
That day, right wing Ray Sheppard went to Florida for draft picks .
▪
The former No. 1 draft pick hit. 326 with 71 RBIs last year.
▪
Hobert was acquired from the Raiders for a third-round draft pick in the offseason.
▪
We can always hope for a top draft pick .
▪
He made 55 trades of players or draft picks , moves that produced 11 Pro Bowl players.
■ NOUN
ice
▪
Winter hunting equipment, for example-including snow goggles, ice picks , and harpoons-was stored in skin bags.
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It was as if ice picks had been driven into my ear.
▪
Blue Mooney squatted next to a pink-and-white Pontiac as he stabbed the ice pick into the fourth tire.
■ VERB
choose
▪
Follow it through one week - or pick and choose the ideas that appeal to you.
▪
It looks very much as if Bush examined the possibility of making a radical pick , and then chose against it.
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But no; they wandered by him, offering themselves like gifts - pick , choose; pick, choose .
▪
It should not be a matter of pick and choose , as the Government please.
take
▪
An assortment of well-ventilated ferret carrying-boxes. Take your pick A compartmental ferret-box - the ferrets sitting placidly.
▪
He also planned to recommend not one, but three solid pastoral candidates of whom the cardinal could take his pick .
▪
Or: she doesn't understand him at all, nor cares to understand. Take your pick .
▪
Big and bold or overdone, take your pick .
▪
No, they take their pick .
▪
Nemo or Popeye, take your pick .
▪
Berlin took their pick , then allowed Sotheby's to sell what was left over.
▪
Then I took out my picks and went back to the guest room.
use
▪
Sometimes I have to dig a path through the snow down to the stream and use a pick on the frozen stream.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
Mutombo, the fourth pick in the NBA draft, is averaging 19 points a game.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
I faxed each of them the list of no-load stocks and asked for their picks.
▪
Instead, they still have the same seven picks, including the third overall and one in each round.
▪
Jacksonville took Hardy with the second pick , leaving Rice.
▪
Last season, his picks resulted in losses of $ 2, 370.
▪
Selkirk and four soldiers, well-armed, carrying picks and shovels, were waiting rather self-consciously near the main gate.
▪
They were armed with pick axe handles and staves.