pick on

prendere di mira, prendersela con

Trattare male qualcuno ripetutamente, soprattutto criticandolo o prendendolo in giro.

In inglese semplice: To repeatedly treat someone unkindly, especially by criticizing them or making fun of them.

• Stop picking on your sister.
• Some children picked on him because of his glasses.
• Why does the boss always pick on me?

Come si usa: pick on someone (The older boys kept picking on him.)

Sinonimi: bully, harass, tease

Espressioni comuni: pick on someone, pick on younger children

scegliere, designare

Scegliere qualcuno per fare qualcosa, spesso quando preferirebbe non farla.

In inglese semplice: To choose someone to do something, often when they would rather not do it.

• The teacher picked on me to answer.
• She picked on Leo to carry the boxes.
• Why do you always pick on me for these jobs?

Come si usa: pick on someone to do something (The teacher picked on me to read aloud.); pick on someone for something (They picked on Sam for the difficult job.)

Sinonimi: choose, select, single out

Espressioni comuni: pick on someone, pick on a student