pick at

pick at idiom
  1. Pluck or pull at, especially with the fingers, as in She was always picking at her skirt with her nails. [1600s]
  2. Eat sparingly and without appetite, as in He was just picking at his dinner. [Late 1500s]
  3. Nag, badger, as in He's picking at me all day long. [Colloquial; second half of 1600s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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