hunt and peck
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of hunt and peck
First recorded in 1935–40
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I just kind of hunt and peck now.
From Salon ● Jan. 19, 2020
Héloïse, recently plucked from a convent to be married off, has only ever heard organ music; Marianne can hunt and peck her way through Vivaldi on a harpsichord, but that’s about it.
From Slate ● Dec. 10, 2019
“He’s aggressive. Before, it seemed like he would hunt and peck a little bit. Now he makes a decision and gets upfield. He’s breaking tackles instead of trying to dance out of things.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2016
As I hunt and peck this post-stroke note, I’m exasperated by the inadequately realized potential of “Telestroke” technology to speed treatment in the first critical hours of care.
From New York Times ● Jul. 8, 2011
And back in Washington, the Japanese ambassadors wait for a lackey to hunt and peck his way through an ultimatum that they deliver to the Secretary of State 55 minutes after the attack.
From Time Magazine Archive
![]()
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.