hole picking?

[light]

hi,

I have 2 qq:
1. what does hole picking mean?
"But with the ink barely dry, the hole picking will begin."

2. what does this senctence mean?
"Gone is the time when a report by a distinguished establishment figure could be published and universally accepted."

[Tdol]

If you pick holes, you find fault with something, so people will start criticising almost immediately (= before the ink is dry). In the past people accepted such reports, but now they criticise them.

[light]

so it's like digging a hole... thanks tdol

[Tdol]

No; digging a hole is getting yourself into trouble, but picking a hole is criticising others.

[light]

oops! I thought when you dig a hole, the truth comes out.. I was wrong again

[curmudgeon]

'nit picking' means looking for faults in a trivial manner. I suppose 'hole picking' (although I am unfamiliar with this saying) means something similar. If you pick holes in an argument then you are in a sense debating and challenging someones opinion and the more holes you pick the less strength the argument or opinion has.

[light]

thank you for the explanation. The original sentence was taken from bbc homepage about the report on Diana's death.. so I guess it must be common at least in british english. my final understanding is this: as soon as the report is announced, the critisims about it will start (by the ones who don't believe it).

[Tdol]

That's right. In fact, they have started- Mr Al Fayad has already dismissed it as rubbish, and those that believe she was killed are unlikely to change their minds.