pick the bones out of that

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Right then people… pick the bones out of that why don’t you?

  • That said on having finished the draw and seeing the groups formed, did he mean ‘pick the most interesting out of it’?
    Thanks.
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2

Hi,

This expression suggests that you analyse somethng in great detail. There is also the underlying meaning. as in your example. that you are challenging someone to find something wrong.

Alan

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3

You mean, Alan, the person was clearly satisfied with the results and saw no possible flaws?

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4

Hi,

In a way, yes. It has the sense of someone saying: All right. You try and find something wrong with that, if you can.

Alan

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5

Hi, @Alan!
Now this is interesting. I had always understood that the phrase ‘to pick the bones’ out of something meant to remove or throw out material from an analysis that is considered inaccurate or of less value to the remaining work. I’d appreciate your thoughts on this viewpoint, please. Thank you.

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6

For me the sense of this expression is that you are examining something in great detail with a view to finding out the truth. You could relate this to the situation in the UK at the moment when people are trying to see whether racism exists in the Brtish monarchy.

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