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Stenka25 Posted 10 years ago
Vocabulary
The meaning of 'pick up'
the meaning of 'pick up'
The sentence below comes from a book, SAT Power Vocab.
https://books.google.co.kr/books?id=7Xk0AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA196&dq=%22The+book+I+was+reading+wasn%27t+terribly+engaging%3B+in+fact.+it+was+one+of+those+books+that+is+hard+to+pick+up.%22&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22The%20book%20I%20was%20reading%20wasn%27t%20terribly%20engaging%3B%20in%20fact.%20it%20was%20one%20of%20those%20books%20that%20is%20hard%20to%20pick%20up.%22&f=false
The book I was reading wasn't terribly engaging; in fact. it was one of those books that is hard to pick up.
I'd like to ask what the underlined 'pick up' means.
I looked up a dictionary.
It seems to mean #1 in a way, but I cannot rule out #5b in another.
#1 makes the sentence humorous, but just because of that the meaning makes a bit odd without other clue. Just one sentence makes the context hard to grasp.
#5b doesn't seem to fit exactly right, because when I first read that sentence I thought 'pick up' means 'understand'. However, I cannot rule out this meaning.
Help me out of this dilemma.
Regards.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pick+up
1. To take up (something) with a hand or other body part or with an instrument: ? Could you pick up that book? ? The dog picked up the bone in its mouth.
2. To collect or gather: ? picked up some pebbles.
3. To tidy up; clean: ? picked up the bedroom.
4. To take on (passengers or freight, for example): ? The bus picks up commuters at five stops.
5. Informal
a. To acquire casually or by accident: ? picked up a new coat on sale.
b. To acquire (knowledge) by learning or experience: ? picked up French quickly.
The sentence below comes from a book, SAT Power Vocab.
https://books.google.co.kr/books?id=7Xk0AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA196&dq=%22The+book+I+was+reading+wasn%27t+terribly+engaging%3B+in+fact.+it+was+one+of+those+books+that+is+hard+to+pick+up.%22&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22The%20book%20I%20was%20reading%20wasn%27t%20terribly%20engaging%3B%20in%20fact.%20it%20was%20one%20of%20those%20books%20that%20is%20hard%20to%20pick%20up.%22&f=false
The book I was reading wasn't terribly engaging; in fact. it was one of those books that is hard to pick up.
I'd like to ask what the underlined 'pick up' means.
I looked up a dictionary.
It seems to mean #1 in a way, but I cannot rule out #5b in another.
#1 makes the sentence humorous, but just because of that the meaning makes a bit odd without other clue. Just one sentence makes the context hard to grasp.
#5b doesn't seem to fit exactly right, because when I first read that sentence I thought 'pick up' means 'understand'. However, I cannot rule out this meaning.
Help me out of this dilemma.
Regards.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pick+up
1. To take up (something) with a hand or other body part or with an instrument: ? Could you pick up that book? ? The dog picked up the bone in its mouth.
2. To collect or gather: ? picked up some pebbles.
3. To tidy up; clean: ? picked up the bedroom.
4. To take on (passengers or freight, for example): ? The bus picks up commuters at five stops.
5. Informal
a. To acquire casually or by accident: ? picked up a new coat on sale.
b. To acquire (knowledge) by learning or experience: ? picked up French quickly.
Top answer
"Hard to pick up" is a humorous reverse of the expression "hard to put down" which (latter) means a book is so very interesting you can't put it down. d
- "Hard to pick up" is a humorous reverse of the expression "hard to put down" which (latter) means a book is so very interesting you can't put it down.
- d
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2 Answers
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"Hard to pick up" is a humorous reverse of the expression "hard to put down" which (latter) means a book is so very interesting you can't put it down.
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Thanks a lot, meteorquake.
With your reply, I could have a big laugh over the sentence
With your reply, I could have a big laugh over the sentence
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