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Phrase(s): pick someone or something to pieces
1. Lit. to pull or pinch at someone or something until only pieces are left. • The savage birds picked the carcass to pieces. • The mice seem to have picked the stuffed doll to pieces. 2. Fig. to criticize someone or something harshly or unduly. • You have just picked her to pieces. Leave her alone! • The critic picked the play to pieces.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs