Rich pickings
Posted by Bob on September 18, 2005
In Reply to: Rich pickings posted by R. Berg on September 16, 2005
: : Can anyone enlighten me as to the origin of the phrase "rich pickings"?
: : My guess is that it refers to the (mainly) women who would during the nepoleonic wars (after a battle had ended) trawl the dead bodies left on battlefields for anything of value.
: I associate it with gold mining, but I don't know that that's its origin.
It's the opposite of "slim pickings," meaning not much to choose from. I always associate it with food harvesting (picking fruit off a tree, for example) but I have no evidence to support this.
- Rich pickings Bob 18/September/05
- Rich pickings R. Berg 18/September/05
- Mr Obvious strikes Lewis 23/September/05
- Rich pickings R. Berg 18/September/05