pick your brains
/ˌpɪk jə ˈbreɪnz/INFORMAL · C1
Meaning
to ask someone who knows a lot for information or advice
Examples
- 1You know a lot about gardening – can I pick your brains about my roses?
- 2Before buying a laptop, I picked Sam's brains, because he works in IT.
- 3Aisha wants to become a vet, so she spent Saturday picking Ben's brains about his job at the animal hospital.
- 4Could I pick your brains for five minutes? I'm stuck on my tax return and you're an accountant.
- 5The new manager spent her first week picking everyone's brains about what customers really want.
Grammar
pick changes: picks, picking, picked. your names the person who knows the answer: Sam's, her, everyone's. pick your brain is also used.
Similar in meaning
More idioms about education
All 20 idioms and the topic quiz →know something inside outto be familiar with every detail of somethingtake something on boardto understand and accept an idea or advicedraw a blankto fail to remember something or find an answera school of thoughta set of ideas or beliefs shared by a group of peoplein a class of your ownmuch better than everyone else at somethingput your thinking cap onto concentrate hard on how to solve a problem
English Idioms400 idioms in 20 topics — with reviews that keep them from fading
Here you get a couple of questions. The app gives you 16 practice modes, native equivalents and spaced repetition that tells you when it’s time to refresh.
