slim pickings

Idioms  

1. A small amount left after others have taken a share. For example, After each of the children took what they wanted of Mother's things, it was slim pickings for the rest of the family. This expression alludes to animals devouring a carcass. [Early 1600s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

slim pickings

It is slim pickings when assessing Hull's assets, so it's likely best to look at players from other clubs for your FPL teams at this point.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

And while the U.S. ended up with the lion’s share of the matches, Canada was left with slim pickings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

This year, low rainfall led to slim pickings in the West Bank, including for the tree whose many nicknames include the Elder, the Bedouin Tree and Mother of Olives.

From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2025

It wasn’t the greatest “Weekend Update” guest segment of late, but as with the rest of the episode, it was slim pickings this week.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 21, 2024

Probably there are only jellyfish and tiny crabs, but even with those slim pickings we have snorkeled at the tiny beach, always.

From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart

Related Words

• absence
• deficiency
• inadequacy
• lack
• paucity
• shortage