pick
(=choice)
take your pick faites votre choix
→ Take your pick. Choose whichever one of the three methods you fancy.
Take your pick from ten luxury hotels. Faites votre choix parmi dix hôtels de luxe.
to have one's pick of ...
(=be able to have whichever one likes) pouvoir choisir n'importe quel ...
→ She had her pick of the world's most eligible men,
She could have her pick of any part. Elle pourrait choisir n'importe quel rôle.
→ Here is an actress who could have her pick of any part.
to have one's pick of sth [+limited alternatives] pouvoir choisir entre qch
He had his pick of two Ferraris and an Aston Martin. Il pouvait choisir entre deux Ferrari et une Aston Martin.
the pick of
(=best)
the pick of the students les meilleurs étudiants
The company gets the pick of Japan's best students. La compagnie peut choisir parmi la crème de la crème des étudiants japonais.
the pick of the jobs les meilleurs postes
The best students get the pick of the jobs. Les meilleurs étudiants peuvent choisir les meilleurs postes.
(=tool) pick-axe pioche f
(=choose) choisir
I picked the biggest piece. J'ai choisi le plus gros morceau.
I've been picked for the team. J'ai été choisi pour faire partie de l'équipe.
→ I could not have picked a better way to travel.
→ I had deliberately picked a city with a tropical climate.
→ Mr Nowell had picked ten people to interview.
to pick and choose choisir en toute liberté
→ they can pick and choose who they work with.
(=gather) cueillir
→ I liked helping to pick mushrooms in the wet fields.
→ I remember picking wild daffodils in the mountains.
to be ready to pick
[fruit] être prêt à être cueilli
The apples are ready to pick. Les pommes sont prêtes à être cueillies.
(=take) prendre
to pick sth off sth prendre qch sur qch, prendre qch de sur qch
He picked the book off the shelf. Il a pris le livre sur or de sur l'étagère.
to pick sth from sth prendre qch sur qch
He picked the napkin from his lap and put it on the table Il a pris la serviette sur ses genoux et l'a mise sur la table
to pick sth out of sth prendre qch dans qch
He picked a toy out of the box. Il a pris un jouet dans la boîte.
[+scab, spot] tripoter
She started picking a spot on her chin. Elle commença à tripoter un bouton qu'elle avait sur le menton.
to pick a bone ronger un os
to pick one's nose se mettre le doigt dans le nez
→ Edgar, don't pick your nose.
to pick one's teeth se curer les dents
→ He had just had a meal and was picking his teeth.
to pick pockets pratiquer le vol à la tire
to pick sb's pocket faire les poches à qn
to have one's pocket picked se faire faire les poches
→ Tourists especially are in danger of having their pockets picked when trains are crowded.
to pick a lock crocheter une serrure
→ She tried picking the lock with a hairpin.
to pick a quarrel with sb chercher querelle à qn
→ He was clearly in a mood to pick a quarrel with anybody.
to pick a fight with sb chercher la bagarre avec qn
→ He picked a fight with a waiter and ended up in jail.
(=walk carefully) to pick one's way through sth se frayer un chemin parmi qch → The children picked their way through the rocks to the sandy beach. to pick one's way across sth se frayer un chemin parmi qch → Rescue workers picked their way across piles of rubble to reach the injured.
cherry-pick
vt trier sur le volet
→ The club is in debt while others are queuing to cherry-pick their best players.
hand-pick , handpick
vt
[+candidate, successor, staff] trier sur le volet
→ He was hand-picked for this job by the Admiral ...
→ Sokagakkai was able to hand-pick his successor.
ice pick
n pic m à glace
nit-pick
vi chercher la petite bête
→ Am I nit-picking?
→ Let's not bother nit-picking and analysing.
He's always nit-picking. Il faut toujours qu'il cherche la petite bête.
Stop nit-picking. Arrête de chercher la petite bête.
→ she just can't stop nit-picking
→ Stop nitpicking and respect the fact that she wants to help people!
▲
pick at
vt fus
[+food] grignoter
→ Sarah picked at a plate of cheese for supper, but wasn't really hungry.
to pick at one's food manger du bout des dents, chipoter
▲
pick off
vt sep
(=shoot) abattre
→ The terrorists were just picking off innocent bystanders.
→ They had been trained to pick off low-flying aircraft.
▲
pick on
vt fus
[+person] s'en prendre à
She's always picking on me. Elle s'en prend toujours à moi.
Jane was repeatedly picked on by the manageress. La responsable ne cessait de s'en prendre à Jane.
→ Bullies pick on younger children.
▲
pick out
vt sep
(=choose) choisir
I like them all - it's difficult to pick one out. Ils me plaisent tous - c'est difficile d'en choisir un.
→ I've been picked out to represent the team.
→ She picked out a ring with diamonds and emeralds.
→ I'll pick out three examples in particular.
(=distinguish) reconnaître
→ He could pick out a teacher in a crowd.
→ She looked at the photograph and immediately picked out the face of her old friend.
▲
pick up
(=improve)
[trade, economy] reprendre
→ The economy is picking up.
→ Sales are beginning to pick up.
→ Officials hope that trade will pick up in the new financial year.
to pick up where one left off reprendre là où l'on s'est arrêté
→ Let's pick up where we left off. Turn to page 20.
(=take) prendre
→ Ridley picked up a pencil and started doodling.
(from the ground, floor)
ramasser
Could you help me pick up the toys? Tu peux m'aider à ramasser les jouets?
→ He stooped down to pick up the two pebbles.
→ He picked up his cap from the floor and stuck it back on his head.
to pick o.s. up se relever
to pick o.s up from the floor se relever
→ He picked himself up from the floor as if nothing had happened.
(=collect) passer prendre venir chercher
We'll come to the airport to pick you up. Nous irons vous chercher à l'aéroport.
→ We drove to the airport the next morning to pick up Susan.
→ Leave the parcel at reception and I'll pick it up later.
[+hitchhiker] prendre
→ People usually stop and pick up a fisherman.
(=arrest) ramasser
The police picked him up within the hour. La police l'a ramassé dans l'heure.
to be picked up être ramassé (e)
He was picked up for drink driving. Il a été ramassé pour conduite en état d'ivresse.
*
[+man, woman] lever *
He'd picked her up in a nightclub. Il l'avait levée dans une boîte de nuit.
→ I doubt whether Tony ever picked up a woman in his life.
(=learn)
[+language] apprendre
I picked up some Spanish during my holiday. J'ai appris quelque mots d'espagnol pendant mes vacances.
→ Did you pick up any Swedish while you were there?
[+idea] assimiler
→ Children as young as five are picking up ideas about healthy lifestyles.
to pick up the idea of sth assimiler l'idée de qch
→ streetwise seven-year-olds upwards may pick up the idea of the game
[+infection] attraper
→ Passengers had picked up food poisoning while they were abroad.
→ I picked up a nasty infection from the water.
[+station] capter
→ It was easier to pick up Radio Luxembourg than Radio 1.
[+signal] capter
→ The crew picked up a distress signal from another fishing boat.
vt fus
to pick up speed prendre de la vitesse
→ The car pulled slowly away, then gradually picked up speed.
pick-me-up
n remontant m
pick 'n' mix , pick-and-mix
n
(=sweets) assortiment m à composer
vi (fig) choisir à la carte
→ There is going to be more emphasis on popular items in the new school menu, and children will be able to `pick and mix" across menu choices.
→ Most companies provide medical cover of up to Euro 3m. It is advisable to pick and mix in order to obtain the level of cover you need.
vt (fig) choisir à la carte
→ Some companies will want to pick-and-mix applications to gain competitive advantage in their industry and avoid becoming the prisoner of a single vendor.
→ Their diet plan was perfect for me because I was able to pick and mix my meals from a whole range of foods.
→ Pupils are allowed to pick and mix subjects to suit their career prospects.
modif (fig)
[approach] à la carte
→ Should the Church tolerate a pick `n' mix approach to the Creed?
pick-up , pickup
n
(=improvement) (in trade, economy)
reprise f
... a pick-up in the housing market ... une reprise sur le marché de l'immobilier
→ The economy remains deep in recession with few signs of a pick-up.
(British, on record player) bras m pick-up
→
pick-up joint
pick-up joint
n
* lieu m de drague
They had come to the world's most famous pick-up joint. Ils étaient arrivés au lieu de drague le plus célèbre au monde.
pick-up point , pickup point
n (for people)
point m de rendez-vous , (for goods)
point m de collecte
→ The company had pick-up points in most cities ...
pick-up truck , pickup truck
n pick-up m