cherry-pick
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.13 in modern English
26
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To pick out the best or most desirable items from a list or group, especially to obtain some advantage or to present something in the best possible light.
verb
To select only evidence which supports an argument, and reject or ignore contradictory evidence.
Example Sentences
- "Screeners can help you cherry-pick a promising group of stocks that meet your exact specifications."
- ""We're not offering you a chance to cherry-pick the Caerphilly Zoo to fill in the gaps in your own collection."
- "In time The Simpsons would, indeed, resort to spoofing such decidedly non-spooktacular fare like E.T and Mr. And Mrs. Smith (both in “Treehouse Of Horror XVIII”) but in 1992 the field was wide-open and the show could cherry-pick the most iconic and beloved fright fare of all time."
- "The situation became more acute as road competition began to grow during the 1930s. A national road network was built, and road hauliers could cherry-pick the most profitable movements."
- "From all the available statistics, the politician cherry-picked only those that backed up his ideas."
- "The reason for this concentration is to attempt to alleviate the problems of fragmentation which usually accompany the study of retailing, particularly at the end of the early period, and has so often happened in the past, to curtail the temptation to 'cherry-pick' the best evidence from a wide, but not necessarily related, area."
Etymology
A metaphor, from the idea of picking through a bowl of cherries and seeking the best for oneself, or the idea of picking off the cherries for oneself from a cake or dessert.
Usage
- American usage