plural noun

• 1Profits or gains that are made effortlessly or dishonestly, as by picking.

  ‘thieves found easy pickings from garages and garden sheds’

  More example sentences

  • ‘he found, as strays often do, slim pickings’
  • ‘It did not take him long to realise that much of the system of locum recruitment and payment was infected by barely controlled chaos and promised the dishonest rich pickings.’
  • ‘But by warning people that burglars are on the prowl, it is hoped the criminals will not be able to take advantage of any easy pickings.’
  • ‘Gas companies profit when oil prices rise, and face slim pickings indeed when times are rough.’
  • ‘They provide easy pickings and a good source of revenue and it doesn't require too much brain power.’
  • ‘Attracted by his free market policies and the rich pickings to be made from privatised industries, foreign capital poured into the country.’
  • ‘The rich pickings have brought out hordes of unscrupulous and fraudulent operators.’
  • ‘During the 1990s, the growth in the number of working mothers who bought ready-made meals for their babies and young children led to rich pickings for baby food firms.’
  • ‘Expensive golf equipment makes rich pickings for thieves, and the lucrative nature of golf crime was highlighted by a recent theft from the pro shop at the Golf Club.’
  • ‘While the long food chains provide the multinational suppliers and the supermarkets with rich pickings, they are not good for the producer, the product or the consumer.’
  • ‘Police have warned householders not to leave easy pickings for burglars following a spate of crimes where property was stolen after windows and doors were left unlocked.’
  • ‘But compromised nutrition, crowded living, inadequate ventilation and late diagnosis all combine to make the poor easy pickings.’
  • ‘A funds manager said smaller companies were easy pickings.’
  • ‘We are the only people back in at present, and the area could be seen as easy pickings for looters.’
  • ‘Such crimes consist of lawbreakers lurking about looking for easy pickings and comprise most of the crimes on campus.’
  • ‘The use of counterfeit and stolen cards is escalating, with conmen drawn to the rich pickings of out-of-town shopping centres.’
  • ‘There must still be rich pickings for all of them.’
  • ‘They were easy pickings for predators, never having been outside before.’
  • ‘For the next five trading sessions, investors have slim pickings.’
  • ‘With the soaring temperatures, people are going to bed and forgetting to secure their homes, providing rich pickings for thieves.’
  • ‘This has left me with slim pickings on the video front.’

  Synonyms

  profit, earnings, income, advantage, benefit, reward, emolument, yield, return, winnings, receipts, proceeds, dividend, interest, percentage, takings

• 2Remaining scraps or leftovers.

  ‘From there they would get first pickings at the garbage.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘For those that fail, the remaining pickings may be small.’
  • ‘I’ve been out on several mini forays where many large families have obviously harvested there before me and the remaining pickings were thin.’
  • ‘The remaining pickings are slim and getting slimmer.’
  • ‘He also knows that there is bacon to be had, left over pickings from my breakfast.’