Hey there, this is Teacher Ola Podcast episode 99: Pick vs Pick Up. Idioms!
My name’s Ola and I’ve overcome a massive language blockade myself and now I help you do the same. If you want to eliminate your fear of speaking and boost your vocabulary, brush up your grammar, improve your pronunciation, this podcast is for you! Go to my website for full transcripts and worksheets to each episode. Happy learning!
Hello hello, I’m happy you’re here, I’m happy you’re doing this. Doing something for yourself, for your improvement. This is big! Let’s not waste any of your time and jump right into today’s topic. The plan is we look at the verb to pick, at the list of its meanings and some idioms and then we;ll do the same for ‘pick up’. Last but certainly not least we will practice. There are sentences for you at the end of the episode rto listen and repeat. Make sure you stay till that part because this is the essential element of all our meetings. You are speaking English out loud. That’s the goal. We want you to start speaking English with confidence.
One more thing before we start. A tiny request from me to you. I’d like this podcast to reach everybody who struggles with speaking English, you can help me. I’m doing my best to help you speak English fearlessly, and it;s free. Let’s make more people fluent, ok? Please tell someone who might benefit from this show. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
PICK
Let’s take a closer look at the verb ‘pick’. There are quite a few meanings of this word so, let’s go through the list.
The first meaning of ‘pick’ is to choose somebody or something from a group of people or things. To choose someone or something from a group. I can ask you now to pick a number. Pick a number from 1-10. Some people pick their words carefully and some don’t. You can be picked for the team. I remember that at school I was always the last to be picked for a basketball or volleyball team. School sucked so much. I’m grateful to be an adult rearly, I wouldn’t go back for a day. Each birthday is a huge occasion to celebrate. I don’t mind getting older at all.
Ok, let’s get to the next definition. When you are picking flowers you are removing them from where they are growing. The same goes with fruit. We pick fruit from trees, bushes. Oh look at him, he’s picking flowers for himself!
Next meaning please. So, when you use your fingers to pull or remove something, or pieces of something from something else, that’s when you pick. Some people always pick raisins from the cheesecake. Others pick watermelon seeds before eating the fruit. But remember don’t pick your nose. That’s so rude! And gross. You know what. By the way, do you use a toothpick? A toothpick is a small sharp piece of wood that removes pieces of food from your teeth. I think he needs to pick his teeth.
Time to look at some idioms with the word ‘pick’. The first one is ‘to pick and choose’. To pick and choose. It means that you choose only those things that you really like or you really want. It’s when you select only the best from a number of possibilities. You can pick and choose a job. Or: Just take any! You haven’t got time to pick and choose.
To pick a fight. It means to start a fight or an argument with somebody. It’s this aggressive and provoking behaviour. He had drunk too much and was ready to pick a fight.
Pick your way. When you pick your way you walk carefully, you are choosing the safest option across, through, over something. We picked our way carefully over the jagged rocks. Jagged rocks. If you had listened to the previous episode, that is episode 98: Learn English With Eric Clapton ‘My Father’s Eyes’ you know what ‘jagged’ means. In that song there’s a phrase: ‘jagged edge’.
One more, idiom with ‘pick’, to pick a winner. It means to choose someone or something (an animal for instance) that is the most likely in your opinion to win. I guess if I had to pick a winner, I’d pick our team. In a broader sense it means to make a very good choice. Good choice, Adam. I think you’ve picked a winner! You look fabulous in this suit.
PICK UP
Pick up is much more prolific, so to speak, when it comes to meaning. There’s a number of meanings, the list is finite but way too long to remember the whole thing. Instead we’ll focus on crucial meanings. Crucial for communication.
To pick up means to improve, to recover. So someone or something gets better than it used to be. The wind has picked up. The wind has become stronger. Sales pick up during Christmas. Sales increase during Christmas. Everybody buys presents, food, clothes, and sales pick up during Christmas. We’ve got it, ok, next.
To start again, to continue. To resume after a break. If you pick up where you stopped or were interrupted, you start again from that point. We’ll meet again in the morning and we can pick up where we left off.
Nobody picked up the phone even though the room was full of people. What does that mean? Nobody answered the phone. So, to pick up a phone means to answer the phone when it’s calling. Imagine you are calling someone now, and you really want them to pick up, because they are on their way somewhere but forgot something important, keys to give an example. And what you’re whispering to yourself is: please pick up, please pick up, pick up, pick up.
To pick somebody up means to drive somewhere and collect someone who is waiting for you. So you let somebody into your car or other vehicle and take them somewhere. I’ll pick you up at 4. Can you pick me up from the airport? Well, there’s a bus that picks up passengers outside the airport, it’s fairly easy.
Another meaning of this phrase to pick up someone is to start talking to someone you don’t know because you want to have a sexual relationship with them. He goes to clubs to pick up girls. She goes to clubs to pick up guys. What’s the best pick-up line ever?
To pick up someone who feels awful means to make them feel better. Try this, it’ll pick you up.
Finally the literal meaning: to lift something or someone up. To grab a hold of something or someone and lift them or it up. She went over to her daughter’s room and picked the girl up. Mummy, can you pick me up? He picked up the letter and read it.
When you pick up a skill or a habit you get it by chance. It just happens, and it’s not done on purpose, there is no deliberate effort to it, it just happens. Living with her caused me to pick up her bad habits. I’ve got lots of cooking tips I picked up from my granny. I picked up some Spanish when I was on holiday in Tenerife. Where have you picked up this weird accent?
One more, last one. I mean the last one before we move on to idioms. To pick up something – to buy something. Did you manage to pick up some strawberries at the market? This purchase is often made by chance, or something bought cheaply. Homes here can be picked up for as little as £30,000.
Idioms. Your favourite idioms. Let’s go. To pick up the pieces. This is uplifting. Well, it’s when you help somebody return to normal, because they are shattered after a major crisis, shock, distater. It’s also when you return to normal after such an event. I’ll be there for you to pick up the pieces when things go wrong. After her business went bankrupt, she picked up the pieces and started again.
To pick up speed. To go faster. To accelerate. The car picked up speed as we moved into the left lane. Skiers who race and want to pick up speed prefer a longer ski.
Pick up the threads of something. If you pick up the threads of something that you were doing, you try to return to it and start doing it again after it stopped or was changed. I’m hoping to pick up the threads of our relationship. We’ve all been trying to pick up the threads of our lives after the economic crash.
Here you have it! All the meanings I found useful. You can go to pretty much any monolingual dictionary and see more meanings if you are hungry for more. No, let’s practice. I have 20 or more sentences and I’ll say them out loud. Please do the same, ok? Listen and repeat out loud:
Honey, will you pick up applesauce from the store on your way home tonight?
Have a look at these photos of the walking trip. Pick the ones you want and give me back the rest.
I’m tired of picking up your clothes from the floor! Can’t you hang them up properly in the wardrobe?
I can pick you up at the airport and take you to your hotel.
Pick a number from one to ten.
At school I was always the last to be picked for a basketball or volleyball team.
It’s time to pick a side.
Look at these freshly picked flowers.
You can pick and choose a job. Or: Just take any! You haven’t got time to pick and choose.
Oh look at him, he’s picking flowers for himself!
I’ll be there for you to pick up the pieces when things go wrong.
He had drunk too much and was ready to pick a fight
Sales pick up during Christmas.
We’ll meet again in the morning and we can pick up where we left off.
Can you pick me up from the airport?
She goes to clubs to pick up guys.
She went over to her daughter’s room and picked the girl up.
I picked up some Spanish when I was on holiday in Tenerife.
We’ve all been trying to pick up the threads of our lives after the economic crash.
Where have you picked up this weird accent?
The car picked up speed as we moved into the left lane.
Well done! Thank you for doing this! Now, download the worksheet and practice some more. Translate 10 sentences into English and say them out loud. The worksheet is in your inbox if you’re a member of TOPeople. If you’re not, please become one. It’s free, and one of the best ways to subscribe is to download the newest worksheet at teacherola.com/99.
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Next week we’re going to explain some modal verbs or verbs, not sure yet. See you next Wednesday. Till then have a great, fearless week. Remember to say it out loud! Happy learning bye-bye!