On our Facebook group, listeners had a spirited discussion about the expression I’d like to pick your brain, meaning “I’d like to get your advice.” It’s a metaphor for extracting knowledge, of course, but the literal sense makes some people queasy. The phrase is associated with the idea of picking someone’s pocket. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Pick Your Brain”
We had a lively discussion on the Facebook group about the expression, pick your brain.
Pick your brain.
Yeah, somebody comes to you and says, I want to pick your brain. Can we have coffee sometime and let me get some information from you?
Yeah, they just kind of want your advice or expertise or even just they want you to say, go get them, tiger.
Yeah.
A lot of people really like it, and a lot of people are not so enthusiastic about it. Laura, who posted the original comments about this, said, I’ve always disliked the idea that the person querying was eager to apply a pickaxe to my head and pry loose my own valuable knowledge.
And, you know, other people are saying, yeah, it’s so cringe-inducing. I can’t help imagining a pile of stripped-down chicken bones.
You know, I’ve never been a fan of that expression, pick your brain.
Why?
I think because back when I was a medical reporter for a newspaper, I watched brain surgery up close and personal. And so I get this mental image.
But it was an interesting discussion because some people said, people, you’re taking it too literally. But if you go back into history, the expression pick your brains or pick a person’s brains apparently refers to like picking a pocket, picking somebody’s pocket.
Oh, I see. Isn’t that interesting?
And I personally would rather have somebody approach me and say, I’d like your advice.
Right.
Yeah, because pick your brains is vague enough. You don’t know what they want.
Yeah.
I’ve had meetings where what people wanted from me was for me to give them their whole business plan.
Right? And I’ve had meetings where, wow, you should really be paying me a consulting fee. And then I’ve had meetings where they just wanted a gut check on a big idea, and I was able to give them that.
And that’s the better kind of brain picking.
Right.
Well, a lot of people had strong feelings about this expression one way or another, so I’d love to hear what everybody else thinks.
Sure, yeah. Does the expression pick one’s brains skeeve you out or annoy you? Is it just too far along the figurative spectrum? Is it something you use?
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