pick of the litter

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

pick of the litter (plural picks of the litter)

1. (idiomatic) The best person or item in a group; the best that one has to offer.

   Of the books I read this summer, A Tale of Two Cities was the pick of the litter.

   • 2003, “Kiss Me, I'm Shitfaced”, in Blackout, performed by Dropkick Murphys:

     I'll take the pick of the litter, girls jockey for me / I don't need these lines to get laid

   • 2017 November 7, Aja Romano, “The unlikely breakout star of Stranger Things 2 is unlikelier babysitter Steve Harrington”, in Vox‎^[1]:

     In the first season of Stranger Things, no character was more extra than Steve Harrington — Nancy Wheeler’s frequently possessive, largely confused, often douchey boyfriend. Though he eventually got with the program and helped fight some monsters, he wasn’t exactly what you’d call the pick of the litter.

Synonyms

• best of the bunch

Antonyms

• runt
• runt of the litter

Translations

best in group

• Finnish: valioyksilö
• French: haut du panier (fr) m

See also

• cream of the crop