pick at

verb

1. (intr, preposition) to make criticisms of in a niggling or petty manner

Idioms and Phrases

Pluck or pull at, especially with the fingers, as in She was always picking at her skirt with her nails . [1600s]

Eat sparingly and without appetite, as in He was just picking at his dinner . [Late 1500s]

Nag, badger, as in He's picking at me all day long . [ Colloquial ; second half of 1600s]

Example Sentences

On this, his third album, he picks at the scabs of northern working-class life, and rails against a system that leaves families mired in bureaucratic neglect.

From BBC

People with body dysmorphia also go to a lot of effort to conceal flaws with clothes and make-up, or pick at their skin.

From BBC

She picks at the American lionization of our creative heroes, especially those with asterisks next to their names because they’ve abused young women.

From Los Angeles Times

They picked at this particular South Africa scab with their verbal armoury of salty snipes when a tense chase began.

From BBC

“He better be working out because I’m just horrified about that fight — just horrified,” Kind mutters while shaking his head and picking at a small plate of bananas and peanut butter.

From Los Angeles Times