hand-picked
hand-picked — adjective
1. describing a person, team, or group that has been chosen one by one by someone i
describing a person, team, or group that has been chosen one by one by someone in charge, because each member is exactly right for a specific role or task.
The mayor leads a hand-picked team of advisors on every major city decision.
attributive: hand-picked + [team/group of people]
Niamh assembled a hand-picked panel of three doctors to review the strange case.
collocation: hand-picked panel / committee / jury
Only a hand-picked group of reporters was allowed into the prime minister's private office.
Coach Okafor took six hand-picked players from the youth academy on the European tour.
The new CEO is surrounded by hand-picked allies who will not question her plans.
- random
selection made without care or specific criteria
文法句型
hand-picked + noun
用法筆記
Almost always attributive (before a noun). Often signals careful, deliberate selection by a powerful figure; depending on context, can be praise (high quality) or quiet criticism (loyalty-based, not merit-based).
常見錯誤
hand-picked — verb
1. to choose a particular person, or each member of a small group, one by one yours
to choose a particular person, or each member of a small group, one by one yourself, because you have judged each of them right for a specific task or position.
The chairwoman hand-picked Sanjay to lead the new product team in Singapore.
hand-pick + [person] + to-infinitive
Aiko hand-picked four young engineers for the prototype project last spring.
hand-pick + [people] + for + [project/role]
Every member of the climbing party was hand-picked by Hiroshi himself.
The retiring judge hand-picked her own successor before stepping down.
Coach Mendes hand-picks every player who joins his small training camp in Lisbon.
文法句型
hand-pick + [person/group]
hand-pick + [person] + for + [role]
be hand-picked + to-infinitive
用法筆記
Subject is usually a person in charge (boss, coach, leader); object is usually a person or small group, not a large team. Frequently used in the passive ('was hand-picked to lead…'). Distinguish from sense 2, which is about picking fruit or crops with the hands.
常見錯誤
2. to gather fruit, tea leaves, cotton, or another crop from a plant using your fin
to gather fruit, tea leaves, cotton, or another crop from a plant using your fingers, instead of letting a machine harvest it; usually done to avoid damage and keep only the best pieces.
Farm workers hand-pick the ripest strawberries every morning before the heat arrives.
hand-pick + [fruit]; the morning timing supports the meaning
The tea leaves on this hillside are hand-picked by local women each April.
passive: be hand-picked by [people]
Ines and her cousins hand-pick coffee cherries on their family farm in Honduras.
Workers must hand-pick the soft apricots because a machine would bruise the fruit.
Every grape in this bottle of wine was hand-picked at sunrise by the Ferreira family.
- machine-harvest
gather a crop using mechanical equipment instead of by hand
文法句型
hand-pick + [fruit/crop]
be hand-picked
用法筆記
Object must be a soft, delicate, or quality-sensitive crop (strawberries, tea leaves, coffee cherries, grapes), not a bulk grain. Often used in marketing copy to signal craft and quality. Distinguish from sense 1, which is about choosing people, not produce.