pick away

pick away

To remove something by picking it, usually with one's fingers. A noun or pronoun can be used between "pick" and "away." The child sat picking raisins away from her cookie. I had to pick away the cat hair from my suit before the interview.
See also: away, pick
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

pick something away

to pull or pinch something loose from something. Mary picked the meat away from the bones. He picked away the burrs.
See also: away, pick
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • bring away
  • blaze away
  • blaze away at (someone or something)
  • bury away
  • boring
  • borne
  • bear away
  • chew away
  • chuck away
  • cut away
References in periodicals archive
"Today I thought, right, I'll just go and enjoy myself and try to pick away a few holes where there are opportunities.
Whitnell wins trophy at last after '10 long years'
I didn't want them to double-team me, that's why I called the pick away.
Last shots don't fall, so Bulls do by 1
"That's why a lot of men around the ball because people couldn't get the first pick away."
CONOR STORY NEEDS SILVER LINING; Calls for medal for missing star
The 2011 champions face a gruelling task to pick away a result, but Al Sadd are quite familiar with the terrain, having defeated Persepolis' arch-rivals Esteghlal 3-1 in Tehran in the quarter-final first leg.
Ferreira hopes for fortune to favour Wolves
The journeymen cover up a lot and are hard to break down whereas someone like this will come to win and when he throws his shots I'll be able to pick away at the gaps that he leaves.
Saunders is aiming to take career up to the next level
The vigil was broadcast across the nation as rescue workers struggled in rain and darkness to pick away unstable debris to reach her.
Race against time in fight to free quake survivors
When those he loves pick away at the thread of tradition, his choices become more and more impossible to make.
YOUR NEXT 48 HOURS
Other efforts to pick away at the Driver Responsibility Program were also floated but appear similarly stalled as the session winds down.
Lawmakers say Driver Responsibility Program repeal unlikely this session
He wants to pick away at the mounting allegations that officers were quietly going out of control as they infiltrated activist groups and unions.
Holyrood system is not delivering; RECORD VIEW
We can all pick away at the make-up of the squad and the standard of the opposition, but they beat what was in front of them and played as a team.
FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED ... FROM FALCONS' PREMIERSHIP 7S WIN; RUGBY UNION
The Elite and the Carnival will have the first two picks in the coming Draft, but Blackwater already gave its first pick away.
PBA slams door on new teams up to 2016
Inshore, redfish continue to roam the flats and pick away at oyster bars.
Top picks
1 pick, debunking numerous reports that the rebuilding club was torn between two injured centers or trading the pick away.
2013 NBA Draft News: Five Biggest Winners In Wild Draft Night, Philadelphia, Dallas, Portland, Cleveland, Boston
They can still counter when necessary, but are now encouraged to pick away at opponents at their own will and convenience.
PREMIER RIVALS GIVEN WARNING