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Synonyms

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]


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.

See Examples For:

The drink lineup was solid, much better than the slim pickings at my $89 beach day in the Dominican Republic a few days earlier.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 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

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

From BBC Mar. 4, 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

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