slim pickings

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]

Example Sentences

Before that though, there's been slim pickings for mainstream pop songs that celebrate authentic lesbian relationships.

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Rowanne Bennett-Waters, who brings her three-year-old son to the nursery, said he didn't enjoy "more traditional settings" and there were "slim pickings" for places he could go next.

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No, but it was the one that stood out from the slim pickings this week.

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But while Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk have reluctantly provided snippets in interviews about contract talks it has been slim pickings from Trent Alexander-Arnold.

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‘You get to 60 and it’s slim pickings,’ the actor says of the ‘beauty-based’ entertainment industry — but with the Apple TV+ spy drama, she keeps finding new ways to shine.

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Related Words

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