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Originally Posted by RonBee  I have a definition for pick at. pick at -- find fault with It was a very good dinner. In addition, there were one or two things to pick at, and that made it perfect. ~R |
The interesting word here is AT. To me, the preposition "at" carries more weight than the verb PICK to express the meaning of FIND FAULT WITH. Can we say that AT usually suggests confrontation or hostility. That is why, in the following two sentences, the first one is less confrontational than the second one:
1) He threw a ball to me.
2) He threw a ball at me.
The first sentence has a connotation that he is just playing with me, whereas the second one suggests that he is so unfriendly to me that he throws a ball to hit me.
Am I right? Thanks.
Ian2