pick apart

pick apart

1. To subject someone or something to intense or excessive analysis or criticism, especially in order to find flaws or negative aspects. Every time I show my brother one of my stories, he just picks it apart without saying anything that he liked about it. Critics picked his performance apart, but fans of the franchise seemed to love it.
2. To defeat, overcome, or dominate someone or something with intense, methodical power or skill. Their offense just picked us apart in the second half of the game. With its sheer size and superior equipment, the government's military was able to pick apart the rebellion in less than half a year.
See also: apart, pick
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

pick someone or something apart

 
1. Lit. to pick at and pull someone or something to pieces. The vultures attacked the hunger-weakened man and tried to pick him apart. They tried to pick apart the body. Harry picked his piece of cake apart, looking to get all the nuts out.
2. Fig. to analyze and criticize someone or something negatively. You didn't review her performance; you just picked her apart. The critics picked apart the performers.
See also: apart, pick
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

pick apart

Also, pick holes in or pick to pieces. Find flaws in something by close examination, criticize sharply, as in The lawyer picked apart the testimony, or He found it easy to pick holes in their argument, or The new editor picked her manuscript to pieces. These expressions use pick in the sense of "pierce" or "poke," a usage dating from the 1300s; pick holes in dates from the mid-1600s, pick to pieces from the mid-1800s.
See also: apart, pick
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

pick apart

v.
1. To pull something or someone to pieces: The vultures picked apart the deer carcass. The children picked the bread apart, trying to remove all the raisins.
2. To find flaws in something or someone by close examination: The lawyer picked apart the witness's testimony. The candidate picked her opponent's speech apart.
See also: apart, pick
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • pick (someone or something) to pieces
  • pick holes
  • pick holes in
  • pick holes in (something)
  • pick holes in something
  • pick someone or something to pieces
  • pick to pieces
  • pick, pull, etc. somebody/something to bits/pieces
  • pull (something) to bits
  • pull to pieces
References in periodicals archive
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Careful research of Hayworth's life frames the chapters, which meticulously pick apart fabricated image and propaganda from what can be verified as truth.
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That makes it a more difficult problem to pick apart."
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James Rogan, presenting the perjury case against Clinton, showed video tape from the president's grand jury testimony to pick apart his statements about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
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It's as though he was saying "You people are always looking to pick apart things that happen on the pitch, aren't you?
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At times, the simplicity of the songs makes them a little too easy to pick apart and makes the shorter, less inventive numbers a little throwaway.
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