[person] See: IN PERSON.

[pet name]{n. phr.} A special or abbreviated name indicating affection. •/He never calls his wife her real name, "Elizabeth," but only such pet names as "honey," "honey bunch," "sweetheart," and "sugar."/

[petard] See: HOIST WITH ONE’S OWN PETARD.

[Peter] See: ROB PETER TO PAY PAUL.

[peter out]{v.}, {informal} To fail or die down gradually; grow less; become exhausted. •/After the factory closed, the town pretty well petered out./ •/The mine once had a rich vein of silver, but it petered out./ •/But as he thought of her, his anger slowly petered out./ Compare: GIVE OUT.

[photo finish]{n. phr.} A close finish in a race of people or animals, where the camera must decide the actual result, sometimes by millimeters. •/The black horse was declared the winner in a photo finish./

[pick] See: BONE TO PICK or CROW TO PICK.

[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./

[pick on]{v.} 1. {informal} To make a habit of annoying or bothering (someone); do or say bad things to (someone). •/Other boys picked on him until he decided to fight them./ Syn.: PICK AT(3). 2. To single out; choose; select. •/He visited a lot of colleges, and finally picked on Stanford./

[pick one’s teeth]{v. phr.} To clean one’s teeth with a toothpick. •/It is considered poor manners to pick one’s teeth in public./

[pick one’s way]{v. phr.} To go ahead carefully in difficult or unfamiliar places; advance with care. •/After nightfall we drove slowly along, picking our way until we found the right turn./ •/He picked his way across the rough and rocky hillside./

[pick out]{v.} 1. To choose. •/It took Mary a long time to pick out a dress at the store./ 2. To see among others; recognize; tell from others. •/We could pick out different places in the city from the airplane./ •/We could not pick Bob out in the big crowd./ Syn.: MAKE OUT(2). 3. To find by examining or trying; tell the meaning. •/The box was so dirty we couldn’t pick out the directions on the label./ Compare: FIND OUT.

[pick over]{v.} To select the best of; look at and take what is good from; choose from. •/She picked the apples over and threw out the bad ones./ •/We hurried to the big sale, but we were late and everything had already been picked over./

[pick the brains of]{v. phr.} To get ideas or information about a particular subject by asking an expert. •/If you have time, I’d like to pick your brains about home computers./

[pick to pieces] See: PICK APART, PICK HOLES IN.

[pickup]{n.}, (stress on "pick") 1. A rugged, small truck. •/When he got into the lumber business, Max traded in his comfortable two-door sedan for a pickup./ 2. Scheduled meeting in order to transfer merchandise or stolen goods. •/The pickup goes down at 7 A.M. every day by the loading dock./ •/The dope pushers usually make their pickup on Rush Street./ 3. A person who is easy to persuade to go home with the suitor. •/Sue is said to be an easy pickup./

[pick up]{v.} 1. To take up; lift. •/During the morning Mrs. Carter picked up sticks in the yard./ 2. {informal} To pay for someone else. •/After lunch, in the restaurant, Uncle Bob picked up the check./ 3. To take on or away; receive; get. •/At the next corner the bus stopped and picked up three people./ 4. To get from different places at different times; a little at a time; collect. •/He had picked up rare coins in seaports all over the world./ 5. To get without trying; get accidentally. •/He picked up knowledge of radio just by staying around the radio station./ •/Billy picked up a cold at school./ 6a. To gather together; collect. •/When the carpenter finished making the cabinet, he began picking up his tools./ 6b. To make neat and tidy; tidy up; put in order. •/Pick up your room before Mother sees it./ 6c. To gather things together; tidy a place up. •/It’s almost dinner time, children. Time to pick up and get ready./ 7. To catch the sound of. •/He picked up Chicago on the radio./ 8. To get acquainted with (someone) without an introduction; make friends with (a person of the other sex). •/Mother told Mary not to walk home by herself from the party because some stranger might try to pick her up./ 9. {informal} To take to the police station or jail; arrest. •/Police picked the man up for burglary./ 10. To recognize the trail of a hunted person or animal; find. •/State police picked up the bandit’s trail./ •/The dogs picked up the fox’s smell./ 11. To make (someone) feel better; refresh. •/A little food will pick you up./ 12a. To increase (the speed); make (the speed) faster. •/The teacher told her singing class to pick up the tempo./ •/The car picked up speed./ 12b. To become faster; become livelier. •/The speed of the train began to pick up./ •/After the band practiced for a while, the music began to pick up./ 13. To start again after interruption; go on with. •/The class picked up the story where they had left it before the holiday./ •/They met after five years, and picked up their friendship as if there had been no interruption./ 14. {informal} To become better; recover; gain. •/She picked up in her schoolwork./ •/He picked up gradually after a long illness./ •/His spirits picked up as he came near home./