accentuate, pick up, pick up the ball, pick a fight with the guy who’s driving, between a rock and a hard place

Shocked and grieving, Parisians are picking up their lives

France responds to an attack of its way of life

The first of four articles about the Islamic State murders in Paris.

ECON.ST

Spiders That Thrive in a Social Web

A new study suggests that predictable social lives accentuate individual quirks and personal styles in spiders that live in groups.

 Washington and Oregon Cities Try to Evade Political Jam to Build a Bridge

By KIRK JOHNSON

After the $3.4 billion Columbia River Crossing plan was killed by the Washington State Senate, leaders in Vancouver, Wash., and Portland, Ore., picked up the ball.

We were at a supermarket in a blighted part of D.C. My roommate got furious, stormed off in her car and left me stranded. I called my brother Kevin to come get me. On the way back to school, he offered this advice: “Never pick a fight with the guy who’s driving.”

I took that to heart, literally and metaphorically. It has spared me plenty of problems since.

The Workologist

If a Reference Can’t Accentuate the Positive

By ROB WALKER

Having agreed to be a reference for a former subordinate, a reader is caught between a rock and a hard place when the new potential employer asks specific and pointed questions.

The Los Angeles Times leads with the story of four French and Belgian al-Qaida recruits who were picked up by police in Europe after they traveled to Pakistan. The seemingly failed recruits "just weren't tough enough," says one of their lawyers. But anti-terrorism officials wonder if they were meant to attack inside Europe.

pick up

1. 1. To take up (something) by hand: pick up a book.
   2. To collect or gather: picked up some pebbles.
   3. To tidy up: picked up the bedroom.
2. To take on (passengers or freight, for example): The bus picks up commuters at five stops.
3. Informal.
   1. To acquire casually or by accident: picked up a new coat on sale.
   2. To acquire (knowledge) by learning or experience: picked up French quickly.
   3. To claim: picked up her car at the repair shop.
   4. To buy: picked up some milk at the store.
   5. To accept (a bill or charge) in order to pay it: Let me pick up the tab.
   6. To come down with (a disease): picked up a virus at school.
   7. To gain: picked up five yards on that play.
4. Informal. To take into custody: The agents picked up six smugglers.
5. Slang. To make casual acquaintance with, usually in anticipation of sexual relations.
6. 1. To come upon and follow: The dog picked up the scent.
   2. To come upon and observe: picked up two submarines on sonar.
7. To continue after a break: Let's pick up the discussion after lunch. 
8. We’ll pick up this conversation when I come back.
   pick up where you left off: 

   He seems to think that we can get back together and just pick up where we left off.
9. Informal. To improve in condition or activity: Sales picked up last fall.They won’t let him out of hospital until his health has picked up quite alot.
10. Slang. To prepare a sudden departure: She just picked up and left.

between a rock and a hard place

• informal Faced with two equally undesirable alternatives: the alternative was equally untenable—she was caught between a rock and a hard placeMore example sentences

• The army chief is certainly caught between a rock and a hard place.
• With the mayor and the police force all breathing down Harry's neck, Harry finds himself between a rock and a hard place.
• Rex to Miles: ‘My wife has me between a rock and a hard place.’

accentuate

Line breaks: ac|cen¦tu|ate

Pronunciation: /əkˈsɛntʃʊeɪt, -tjʊ-/

verb

[with object]

• Make more noticeable or prominent: his jacket unfortunately accentuated his paunch
  

  More example sentencesSynonyms
  

  focus attention on, bring/call/draw attention to, point up, underline, underscore, accent, highlight, spotlight, foreground, feature, give prominence to, make more prominent, make more noticeable, play up, bring to the fore, heighten, stress, emphasize, put/lay emphasis on
  

  View synonyms

Origin

mid 18th century: from medieval Latin accentuat- 'accented', from the verb accentuare, from accentus 'tone' (see accent).

take up (or pick up) the baton/ the ball

accept a duty or responsibility.問いかけなどに応じる.

pick up

become better; improve:my luck’s picked up

become stronger; increase:the wind has picked up

pick oneself up

stand up again after a fall.

pick someone up

go somewhere to collect someone, typically in one’s car and according to a prior arrangement.

stop for someone and take them into one’s vehicle or vessel.

informal arrest someone.

informal casually strike up a relationship with someone one has never met before, as a sexual overture.

make someone feel more energetic and cheerful:songs to pick you up and make you feel good

pick something up

• 1 collect something that has been left elsewhere:Wanda came over to pick up her things
• informal pay the bill for something, especially when others have contributed to the expense:as usual, we had to pick up the tab
• North American tidy a room or building.

• 2 obtain, acquire, or learn something, especially without formal arrangements or instruction:he had picked up a little Russian from his father
• catch an illness or infection.

• 3 detect or receive a signal or sound, especially by means of electronic apparatus.
• (also pick up on) become aware of or sensitive to something:she is very quick to pick up emotional atmospheres
• find and take a particular road or route.

• 4 (also pick up) resume something:they picked up their friendship without the slightest difficulty
• (also pick up on) refer to or develop a point or topic mentioned earlier:Dawson picked up her earlier remark
• (of an object or color) attractively accentuate the color of something else by being of a similar shade.