"Pick off" Quotes from Famous Books
 ... of young pork, free from gristle, or fat; cut small and beat fine in a mortar. Chop 6 lbs. of beef suet very fine; pick off the leaves of a hand-full of sage, and shred it fine; spread the meat on a clean dresser, and shake the sage over the meat; shred the rind of a lemon very fine, and throw it, with sweet herbs, on the meat; grate two nutmegs, to which put a ...
— Burroughs' Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information, 1889 • Barkham Burroughs
... Croghan, "get your riflemen together and pick off those fellows as fast as you can. Never mind those bags of sand. ...
— Sustained honor - The Age of Liberty Established • John R. Musick,
... made warfare as much a hand-to-hand business as it was in olden times and we must go back a good deal to old-fashioned weapons, as we have to a great extent to old-fashioned armor. The picked snipers or sharpshooters could be placed in points of vantage to pick off any of the enemy who exposed themselves and a score of them in each company would get very ...
— "Over There" with the Australians • R. Hugh Knyvett
... qualities as well as mean and selfish ones. For ordinary work, one man's muscle is as good as another's. It is only when the time of trial comes,—when the volunteers are called to man the boat that is to venture through the wild seas to pick off the crew of a foundering wreck,—"when the jerking, slatting sail overhead must be got in somehow," though topmast and yard and sail may go any minute,—when the quailing mate or frightened captain dares not order men to all but certain ...
— Atlantic Monthly, Volume 3, Issue 15, January, 1859 • Various
... contrary, took his grain of corn to a branch, or sometimes to the trunk of a tree, where he sought a suitable crevice in the bark or in a crotch, placed his kernel, hammered it well in till firm and safe, and then proceeded to pick off pieces and eat them daintily, one by one. Sometimes he left a kernel there, and I saw how firmly it was wedged in, when the English sparrow discovered his store, fell upon it, and dug it out. It was a good deal of work for a strong-billed, persistent sparrow to dislodge ...
— A Bird-Lover in the West • Olive Thorne Miller
... to Lisle, "do you think you can pick off that fellow in the white burnoose? He is evidently an important leader, and it is through his efforts that the enemy continues ...
— Through Three Campaigns - A Story of Chitral, Tirah and Ashanti • G. A. Henty
... meant to be there before, but in the front garden he had come upon Linda walking up and down the grass, stopping to pick off a dead pink or give a top-heavy carnation something to lean against, or to take a deep breath of something, and then walking on again, with her little air of remoteness. Over her white frock she wore a yellow, pink-fringed shawl from ...
— The Garden Party • Katherine Mansfield
... recoiled, and driven them into the river, drowning many more. The Danes had gone down the Yare again, and out to sea northward, no man knew whither. He, the Heron, prowling about the fenlands of Norfolk to pick off straggling Frenchmen and looking out for the Danes, had heard all the news from the landsfolk. He had watched the Danish fleet along the shore as far as Blakeney. But when they came to the isle, they stood out to sea, right northwest. He, the Heron, believed ...
— Hereward, The Last of the English • Charles Kingsley
... I should stand upon a high cliff that commanded Fowooka's island; from that point I could pick off not only the chief, but all his people, by firing steadily with the little double 24 rifle; he continued even farther, that if I were too ill to go myself, I should LEND him my little Fletcher 24 rifle, ...
— The Albert N'Yanza, Great Basin of the Nile • Sir Samuel White Baker
... much of a chance to judge of their numbers, sir; but I should say that there were at least a dozen of them, and they were coming this way. I shouldn't wonder if they intended to pick off some of the men ...
— Frank on a Gun-Boat • Harry Castlemon
... lie low with your picking off, or he may pick off you! Thank God the babies are gone. Maybe we shan't be noticed, if we've but the courage to do nothing, and ...
— The Dynasts - An Epic-Drama Of The War With Napoleon, In Three Parts, - Nineteen Acts, And One Hundred And Thirty Scenes • Thomas Hardy
... and white sail, not a soul to be seen on deck, except a dark object, which we took for the man at the helm. "What schooner's that?" No answer. "Heave—to, or I'll sink you." Still all silent. "Sergeant Armstrong, do you think you could pick off that chap at the wheel?" The marine jumped on the forecastle, and levelled his piece, when a musket—shot from the schooner crashed through his skull, and he fell dead. The old skipper's blood was up. "Forecastle, ...
— Tom Cringle's Log • Michael Scott
... keep off the dust); hang up in a warm, dry place, the leaves downward. In a few days the herb will be thoroughly dry and brittle. Or you may place them in a cool oven and let them remain in it until perfectly dry. Then pick off all the leaves and the tender tops of the stems; put them in a clean, large-mouthed bottle that is perfectly dry. When wanted for use, rub fine, and sift through a sieve. It is much better to put them in bottles as soon as dried, ...
— The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) - The Whole Comprising A Comprehensive Cyclopedia Of Information For - The Home • Mrs. F.L. Gillette
... into which were stuck fearful curved knives and the butt-ends of pistols; and so, with "so many Richmonds in the field," it was not to be wondered that Tim Rooney and Mr Mackay had previously missed their mark—albeit now that the proa was near, it was strange that they could not pick off the pirate leader, who, as the proa sheered up alongside the Silver Queen, looked up at us astern and grinned a horrible sardonic grin, drawing the while his solitary left hand across his bare tawny throat ...
— Afloat at Last - A Sailor Boy's Log of his Life at Sea • John Conroy Hutcheson
... shrugged. "If the Connies try to take the asteroid away, they'll have a real warm time. We have ten racks of rockets, twenty-four to a rack. That's a lot of snapper-boats we can pick off if they try to make ...
— Rip Foster Rides the Gray Planet • Blake Savage
... siege of Yorktown, especially, the fact is historical that the Confederates acquired such a dread of these weapons that they forced their negroes to the work of serving the guns, which they did not dare attempt themselves, and our men were reluctantly compelled, in self-defence, to pick off the poor fellows who were unwillingly opposed to them. In more than one instance after an engagement, members of the "Andrew Sharp-shooters" have indicated precisely the spot where their victims would be found, and the exact position of the bullet-holes which had ...
— Atlantic Monthly, Volume 10, Number 59, September, 1862 • Various
... firm hand wherever firing was of use. The fight was now begun in earnest, and B.-P., on a rock directing the movements of his force, was surrounded by the deafening roar of artillery. In nearly every cave on those hills savages lay with rifle to shoulder, finger on trigger, waiting to pick off the besiegers as they came bounding over the rocks towards them. The Cape Boys never wavered; up they dashed, panting and sweating, to the very mouths of the caves, fired their rifles into the darkness, charged ...
— The Story of Baden-Powell - 'The Wolf That Never Sleeps' • Harold Begbie
... intoxication in it. They love the hunting spirit of it all. We have the story of a French soldier of peaceable disposition who appeared to experience an ecstasy of delight as he lay concealed in a shell hole and was able to pick off many of the enemy. This was not the exhilaration and abandon experienced by men while making attack, when violent muscular exertion produces an intoxication of mind, but a dominance of the mind by something ...
— The Psychology of Nations - A Contribution to the Philosophy of History • G.E. Partridge
... lent itself, however, excellently well to the success of the guerilla type of warfare, which the Boers maintained for more than twelve months after all their principal towns were taken. Solitary snipers were thus able from safe distances to pick off unsuspecting man, or horse, or ox, and, if in danger of being traced, could hide the bandolier and pose as a peace-loving citizen ...
— With the Guards' Brigade from Bloemfontein to Koomati Poort and Back • Edward P. Lowry
... which hatches upon the leaves and in the forming heads of cabbage and other vegetables of the cabbage group, comes from the eggs laid by the common white or yellow butterfly of early spring. Pick off all that are visible, and spray with kerosene emulsion if the heads have not begun to form. If they have, use hellebore instead. The caterpillar or worm of tomatoes is a large green voracious one. Hand-picking is ...
— Home Vegetable Gardening • F. F. Rockwell
... side and climb the stairs, and half an hour later, in the increasing darkness, the entire square was in flames, while he, still prone on the ground behind his shelter, availed himself of the vivid light to pick off any venturesome soldier who stepped from his protecting doorway into ...
— The Downfall • Emile Zola
... stood with our feet on the combings of the hatchways, with our backs against the deck. What a charming sight, as my Lady Dangerfield might have said, to see four heavy guns from the battery, three field-pieces, and about two hundred soldiers firing at a nearly deserted vessel, and endeavouring to pick off and send to "Kingdom come" the unfortunate few of her crew who remained. The captain of the other sloop, finding I was not in the boats, pulled back in a gallant manner under a most galling fire to entreat me to come into his boat. This I declined, as I could not ...
— A Sailor of King George • Frederick Hoffman
... up and the fight was on. As usual the Jerries were not aiming to close with the Yanks. They were willing to pick off a cripple or a plane cut out from the flight but not to make it a real battle. Their job was to delay and to pull the ...
— A Yankee Flier Over Berlin • Al Avery
... "So choose a branch, pick off all the large leaves except two at the extreme end. If there are more than two, choose the two smallest leaves. Now it is ready to cut. About four inches down the stem cut it off between two nodes. Do not cut straight across the stem but ...
— The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming. • Ellen Eddy Shaw
... myself of course, as one person, as representative—possibly more possibly less of others in the Clan. Any scintilla or fleck of truth I can pick off from a revolutionary, I take but I will not take him. The same is true of a standpatter or reactionary. I want to know all he knows. If I take his truth I can use it, if I take him I will find him cumbersome. Life is too short to spend ten hours ...
— The Ghost in the White House • Gerald Stanley Lee
... the task of storming such a place. The breech-loading rifles of the Indians thrust through chinks between the rocks were ready to pick off every soldier who showed himself for a moment, while the Indians lay utterly invisible. They were familiar with byways both over and under ground, and could at any time sink suddenly out of sight like squirrels among the loose boulders. Our bewildered soldiers ...
— Steep Trails • John Muir
... will be noticed that such vagabonds as travel by the hook or by crook method, getting a lift in the world frpm every passer-by -.burdocks, beggar-ticks, cleavers, pitchforks, Spanish needles, and scores of similar tramps that we pick off our clothing after every walk in autumn - make, perhaps, the most successful travelers on the globe. The hound's tongue's four nutlets, grouped in a pyramid, and with barbed spears as grappling-hooks, imbed themselves in our ...
— Wild Flowers, An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and - Their Insect Visitors - - Title: Nature's Garden • Neltje Blanchan
... retreat of the other part of our column. The enemy's force consisted of detachments of cavalry, artillery, and Landwehr infantry. Before our little guns could be trained on them, the Landwehr men had already seized several outlying houses, barns, and sheds, whence they strove to pick off our gutiners. For a moment our Mobilises hesitated to go forward, but Gougeard dashed amongst them, appealed to their courage, and then led them against ...
— My Days of Adventure - The Fall of France, 1870-71 • Ernest Alfred Vizetelly
... understand this, then remembered the disappearance of Perdosa. My heart jumped wildly, for the Mexican had been gone quite long enough to have cut off the assistant's escape. I could not doubt that he would pick off his man at close range as soon as the fugitive should have reached the entrance ...
— The Mystery • Stewart Edward White and Samuel Hopkins Adams
... of his. Which he's made a plumb fool of me, Dan. Now I was tellin' him about you—maybe I was sort of exaggeratin'—an' I said you could have your back turned when the coins was tossed an' then pick off four dollars before they hit the ground. I made ...
— The Untamed • Max Brand
... heard of by the comrades, however, as they had been heard of by every soldier subjected to the tricks of the Confederates; and they were not too certain that enemies might not lie concealed in the neighborhood, waiting to pick off any Union soldier discerned in the light of the fire. On this account, Webster, who had re-loaded his rifle, carried it ready for instant use, while Crawford carried his in the unwounded hand, at half-cock, and ready to make some ...
— Shoulder-Straps - A Novel of New York and the Army, 1862 • Henry Morford
... began to pick off the hairy caterpillars and swallow them. When he had eaten all those in sight he made holes in the silken web of the nest and picked out the caterpillars that were inside. Finally, having eaten his fill, he flew off as silently ...
— The Burgess Bird Book for Children • Thornton W. Burgess
... There were a lot of gorgeous nasturtiums under the window of the living-room; but, of course, nobody expects more of nasturtiums than for them to be faithful unto death by frost. However, I did pick off a red one and proceed to chew it up with the deepest appreciation of its peppery flavor. And as I chewed with smarting tongue I cast my eyes along a row of beans that was fairly loaded with snaps, which made my thumb smart in ...
— Over Paradise Ridge - A Romance • Maria Thompson Daviess
... to be a country gentleman's wife," Rebecca thought. "I think I could be a good woman if I had five thousand a year. I could dawdle about in the nursery and count the apricots on the wall. I could water plants in a green-house and pick off dead leaves from the geraniums. I could ask old women about their rheumatisms and order half-a-crown's worth of soup for the poor. I shouldn't miss it much, out of five thousand a year. I could even drive out ten miles to dine at a neighbour's, ...
— Vanity Fair • William Makepeace Thackeray
... Trogons, parrots, toucans, mot-mots, and many other birds build in holes of trees or in the ground, and these, with their heads ever turned to the only entrance, are in the best possible position to pick off singly the scouts when they approach, thus effectually preventing them from carrying to the main army intelligence about the nest. Some of these birds, and especially the toucans, have bills beautifully adapted for picking up the ants before they ...
— The Naturalist in Nicaragua • Thomas Belt
... after him for the shooting of Carson, he killed two of them, and entered upon the life of an outlaw. He became a marvellous shot with either hand. He would turn up in towns and settlements, raise a quarrel at the slightest opportunity, pick off his man and laugh at the officers of the law. He was so cool, so deadly, so rapid, so inhumanly blood-thirsty that none but faint attempts were ever made to capture him. When he was at last shot and killed by a little one-armed Mexican who was nearly dead himself from fright, the Frio Kid had ...
— Whirligigs • O. Henry
... Reuben said, "we must get to our feet, and pick off the blacks as they run. They will get up like a covey of partridge, as ...
— A Final Reckoning - A Tale of Bush Life in Australia • G. A. Henty
... grasps the musket of a common soldier, showing to the last that noble patriotism which makes his name so dear to all who love their country. "Keep cool. Wait until you see the color of their eyes! Aim at their red coats. Pick off their commanders!" are the fiery last commands of Prescott, as the scarlet column moved up the hill. Each soldier is in place, each eye unflinchingly is fixed on the enemy, and each right hand is pressed upon the musket, ready for the ...
— Ten Great Events in History • James Johonnot
... facetious friend. You pick off the corner of his writing table "Noctes Ambrosianae" or the London "Punch." His chair is wide, so that he can easily roll off on the floor when he wants a good time at laughing. His inkstand is a monkey, with the variations. His study-cap would upset a judge's risibilities. Scrap books with droll ...
— Around The Tea-Table • T. De Witt Talmage
... "you can't walk all over these miles and miles of farm and pick off every one of them beetles. You must know ...
— The Helpful Robots • Robert J. Shea
... to "pick off" enemies ought to be ignored until position of c.p. or s.s. or of its supporting body has unquestionably been learned by enemy. Then fire away. 2. Stop enemy's patrolling. Is as important as to force your own observation. 3. Advantages of s.s. over c.p. ...
— Military Instructors Manual • James P. Cole and Oliver Schoonmaker
... "Richard," that stretched far out over the deck of the British ship. Cautiously the brave fellow crept out on the slender spar. His comrades below watched his progress, while the sharp-shooters kept a wary eye on the enemy, lest some watchful rifleman should pick off the adventurous blue-jacket. Little by little the nimble sailor crept out on the yard, until he was over the crowded gun-deck of the "Serapis." Then, lying at full length on the spar, and somewhat protected by it, he began to shower his missiles upon ...
— The Naval History of the United States - Volume 1 (of 2) • Willis J. Abbot
... bullets flew wide of the mark. The fog suddenly lifted and a steady fusillade from the men hidden in the hills of Fredericksburg began to pick off the bridge builders with cruel accuracy. At times every man was down. New men were rushed to take their places ...
— The Southerner - A Romance of the Real Lincoln • Thomas Dixon
... orders are for us to sneak round on three sides of Greaves's store, keepin' out of gunshot till we find good cover, an' then crawl closer an' to pick off any of ...
— To the Last Man • Zane Grey
... early article in this series I stated that one of the favorite operations of the "System" is to pick off those officials who have exhibited unusual talent or energy in protecting the interests of the National Government. In this way they secure the services of men who know the secret workings of the people's institutions and how best to guard the corporations ...
— Frenzied Finance - Vol. 1: The Crime of Amalgamated • Thomas W. Lawson
... earth," said Tom, who had found a spot with a bush through which he could thrust his telescope and yet remain perfectly sheltered behind the rock; "they're looking about them, wondering where we've gone to. If we had but a few more muskets, we could pick off ...
— The Three Commanders • W.H.G. Kingston
... aphides well by sight, in one of their forms at least, the familiar rose aphis; but probably few people ever look at them closely and critically enough to observe how very beautiful and wonderful is the organisation of their tiny limbs in all its exquisite detail. If you pick off one good-sized wingless insect, however, from a blighted rose-leaf, and put him on a glass slide under a low power of the microscope, you will most likely be quite surprised to find what a lovely little creature it is that you have been poisoning ...
— Falling in Love - With Other Essays on More Exact Branches of Science • Grant Allen
... of egg and powdered fish, very nicely rolled in cherry leaves. Every dish is a work of art in its arrangement. These two fish are the favorite of the last emperor, and you do not blame him. They are cooked in mirin, a kind of sweet liquor made from sake, and you eat all you can pick off the bones with your hashi. As soon as this tray is in place you see a lovely little girl with her long, bright-colored kimona on the floor around her, and she has in her hand a blue and white china bottle placed in a tiny lacquer coaster, and ...
— Letters from China and Japan • John Dewey
... the smaller field guns, have had attached to them great shields of steel behind which the gunners stand, so that they are protected against the old-fashioned sharpshooters whose duty it was to pick off ...
— Kelly Miller's History of the World War for Human Rights • Kelly Miller
... cases that Kouaga had conveyed from England and gave us an exhibition of his skill with the rifle. He was a dead shot. I had no idea he could aim so true. As we sped past in our canoe he would raise his weapon from time to time and pick off a bird upon the wing, or fire directly into the eye of some basking animal, causing it to utter a roar, lash its tail and disappear to die. He seldom missed, and the accuracy of his aim elicited from the sable ...
— The Great White Queen - A Tale of Treasure and Treason • William Le Queux
... trying to talk about the dangers of militarism. These men knew all about the dangers of militarism—for the Kaiser. The man who is at the buttend of a gun, and knows how to aim it so as to pick off a cat at six hundred yards—that man will let the cat do the worrying. So, at any rate, the matter seemed to these husky young recruits, who were learning to march in the mud and sleep in the rain and chew up carpet-tacks and grind Huns into leber-wurst. They were putting through ...
— Jimmie Higgins • Upton Sinclair
... barricade had been alerted, and now began clearing it aside hastily, while others kept up a covering fire against the few Municipals. The trucks wheeled through, and Gordon dropped back to let scout trucks go ahead and pick off any rash enough to head for the call boxes. They couldn't prevent advance warning, but they could delay and ...
— Police Your Planet • Lester del Rey
... Muskets spoke from the rigging of the Ranger, where several seamen had climbed in the endeavor to pick off the gunners on the deck of the British warship. There were one hundred and fifty-seven men upon the Drake; Paul Jones had one hundred and twenty-six. The Drake's battery was sixteen nine-pounders ...
— Famous Privateersmen and Adventurers of the Sea • Charles H. L. Johnston
... Pick off any leaves that may be discolored and wash well a quart of Brussels sprouts, put into a saucepan with two quarts of boiling water and a saltspoonful of soda. Boil rapidly until tender—about half an hour—just before they are done add a tablespoonful of salt. Drain them in a colander, ...
— The Golden Age Cook Book • Henrietta Latham Dwight
... trunks shaggy with a fringe of dead spines left by each year's growth. Cooler suggested that at a given signal the trunks of two of these trees should be set on fire to light up the camp, and enable the soldiers to pick off the Apaches as they left their shelter when our attack should begin. He also proposed that we yell, saying: "If you out-yell 'em, lieutenant, ...
— Captured by the Navajos • Charles A. Curtis
... evening they returned to the town amidst the still oppressive heat of a summer sunset. Later on they became very fond of shooting, but shooting such as is carried on in a region devoid of game, where they had to trudge a score of miles to pick off half a dozen pettychaps, or fig-peckers; wonderful expeditions, whence they returned with their bags empty, or with a mere bat, which they had managed to bring down while discharging their guns at ...
— His Masterpiece • Emile Zola
... Miss Betty's desire he always went in to family prayers after supper, when he sat as close as possible to the door, under an uncomfortable consciousness that Thomasina did not think his boots clean enough for the occasion and would find something to pick off the carpet as she followed him out, however hardly he might have used the ...
— Tales from Many Sources - Vol. V • Various
... "They do not give up as easy as that. It was so dark that I don't think much damage was done to either side. Besides, a lot of them are there yet, hiding against the palisade, and if they get a chance they will pick off some of your men." ...
— The Riflemen of the Ohio - A Story of the Early Days along "The Beautiful River" • Joseph A. Altsheler
... they but see their enemy; but it is vain to shoot at trees and bushes." Whereupon Washington urgently besought him to let his regulars fight the Indians in their own fashion, which would the better enable them to pick off the lurking foe with less danger to their own safety. But Braddock's only answer to this was a sneer; and some of his regulars, who were already acting upon the suggestion, he angrily ordered back into the ranks, calling them cowards, and even striking them with the flat of his sword. He then caused ...
— The Farmer Boy, and How He Became Commander-In-Chief • Morrison Heady
... he said to himself, "and if the Indians are really there, it's time for me to take part in this war. I can keep in the timber and pick off half a dozen of them there in the fire light. Then if they scalp me, I don't care. I'll at least make them suffer for what ...
— The Big Brother - A Story of Indian War • George Cary Eggleston
... pick off a grotesque, pipe-like figure that had suddenly appeared on the broad wall of the enclosure. Then he turned to the frenzied problem of driving the monster through the ...
— The Red Hell of Jupiter • Paul Ernst
... glint o' thet sun! Billee!" he continued, addressing Garey, "ee 'll shoot fust; yur gun's furrest carry. Plug the big un on the clay-bank hoss. This child's for Number 2 on the grey mustang. An, young fellur! ee'll jest pick off thet niggur on the roan. I know yur wild-cat to the back-bone, but keep yur eye skinned an yur narves ...
— The War Trail - The Hunt of the Wild Horse • Mayne Reid
... Coarse stems and branches must be avoided by moderate root-pruning. The wood must be kept near the wall, that wood and fruit may be better ripened. The fan system is better for a high wall. Train shoots on the tree from the nursery in regular order at equal intervals, cutting back only to ripe wood. Pick off growths on the side next the wall, and others badly placed. Lay in new wood every year, and in August or Early September cut out unsightly branches or spurs if there is other wood to replace them. Prune upper part of tree first, and encourage ...
— The Book of Pears and Plums • Edward Bartrum
... of the day could work off their surplus energies. Hunting, too, afforded a pleasurable and profitable pastime to the young when not engaged in the work of building houses, barns, and fences, and the boy of ten who could not pick off the head of a grouse or pheasant at thirty or forty yards was only fit to be "tied to mama's apron string." In times of danger age was no bar, the boy of 14 marched side by side with the gray haired volunteer, or remained at home to protect ...
— Reminiscences of a Pioneer • Colonel William Thompson
... feet across the wings, somewhat like owls, somewhat like cuckoos, somewhat like goatsuckers; but, on the whole, unlike anything in the world but themselves; and instead of feeding on moths or mice, they feed upon hard dry fruits, which they pick off the trees after the set of sun. And wise men will tell you, that in making such a bird as that, and giving it that peculiar way of life, and settling it in that cavern, and a few more caverns in that part of the world, and therefore in making the ...
— Madam How and Lady Why - or, First Lessons in Earth Lore for Children • Charles Kingsley
... debouches, and all the Mississippi above to Vicksburg. The Red River, Washita and Tensas were, as has been said, all navigable streams, on which the enemy could throw small bodies of men to obstruct our passage and pick off our troops with their sharpshooters. I let the work go on, believing employment was better than idleness for the men. Then, too, it served as a cover for other efforts which gave a better prospect of success. This work was abandoned after the ...
— Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, Complete • Ulysses S. Grant
... her scissors at him several times. My sister, sir, does not know what fear is. She would fight a lion; inheriting the spirit from our father, who, I have heard said, frequently fought a tiger. She can fire a gun and pick off a State Senator as well as any man in all the South. Our mother died. A few mornings thereafter our step-father was found dead in his bed, and the doctors said he died of a pair of scissors which he ...
— Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 14, July 2, 1870 • Various
... enemy, the little garrison resolved to maintain their position. Little could be gained by flight, and all their property would inevitably be destroyed should they desert the hut. The risk they ran in either case was very great. They might pick off some of the savages, but there were so many that they might easily surround the hut and burn ...
— The Gilpins and their Fortunes - A Story of Early Days in Australia • William H. G. Kingston
... Ridge the Turks could enfilade parts of our firing-line. For weeks they had continued to pick off our men one by one. You could almost tell when your turn was coming. I know, because from Caribou Ridge came the bullet that sent me off the peninsula. The machine-guns on Caribou Ridge not only swept parts of our trench, but commanded all of the intervening ...
— World's War Events, Vol. I • Various
... the island, in which the English rushed up to the palisaded fort, began firing in at the portholes, and set fire to the village. The next day the Indians sallied out, and hiding behind trees, tried to pick off the English. But when many of their warriors had been killed, the chief, with twenty men, tried to circle the English. This too failed, the chief was killed, and the remaining Indians with their wives and children, taking to their ...
— Bacon's Rebellion, 1676 • Thomas Jefferson Wertenbaker
... seemed suddenly to strike this exasperated individual; his boat was too close under our counter to enable him to use his own muskets, so he hailed the cutter and inquired if there was "no one in her clever enough to pick off that rascally ...
— The Rover's Secret - A Tale of the Pirate Cays and Lagoons of Cuba • Harry Collingwood
... brains into boiling water for three minutes, remove from water and pick off the dark muscles, roll into cracker dust or bread crumbs in small patties and drop into hot ...
— Stevenson Memorial Cook Book • Various
... had given us rather a stiff time of it for some weeks, and on this occasion a strong body of them had to be dislodged from a height where they were safely entrenched behind one of their stone sangars, ready to pick off any of us who should attempt the ascent. But the thing had to be done, like many other hopeless-looking things, and a party of infantry and cavalry were detailed for the duty,—a company of Sikhs, ...
— Captain Desmond, V.C. • Maud Diver
... thorough inspection of the walls, while the only four serviceable cannon left fired slowly on, as if for the funeral of Louisbourg. The British looked stronger than ever, and so close in that their sharpshooters could pick off the French gunners from the foot of the glacis. The best of the French diarists made this despairing entry: 'Not a house in the whole place but has felt the force of their cannonade. Between yesterday morning and seven o'clock to-night from a thousand to twelve hundred ...
— The Great Fortress - A Chronicle of Louisbourg 1720-1760 • William Wood
... had the most of them in, the old woman threw the cloth over them. The farmer was now down on his knees, and the bees that were still on Veazie he began to pick off and pop into the pail as if they were ...
— Frank Merriwell's Reward • Burt L. Standish
... for forty-eight hours, then hang them up in a tolerably tight room to dry—hang across poles, one on each side. A sharp stick put through the but of the stalks and laid over the pole, leaving one stalk on each side, is a very good method. When it becomes well dried, pick off the leaves, and tie the stems together in small bunches, and pack away in hogsheads or boxes, in a ...
— Soil Culture • J. H. Walden
... ought to do with that tree," said he, "is to put a hinge into her. Then we could let her down gently, pick off the fruit, and set her ...
— The Bee-Man of Orn and Other Fanciful Tales • Frank R. Stockton
... musket-range. Their color-bearers stepped defiantly to the front as the engagement opened furiously; the rebels pouring in sharp, quick volleys of musketry, and their batteries above continuing to support them with a destructive fire. Our sharpshooters wanted to pick off the audacious rebel color-bearers, but Colonel Stuart interposed: 'No, no, they're too ...
— Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War • Herman Melville
... sprang over the wall, and took position behind the trees, to shoot "wherever they saw a head." Each soldier had his "covering man,"—a comrade stationed about ten feet behind him, whose duty it was to keep his own piece charged ready to kill any of the enemy who might attempt to pick off the leading man while the latter was loading. One of my young friends had the hammer of his rifle shot off in his hand. He kept his position till another weapon was passed out to him. The action lasted till evening, when the enemy drew off, there being various and uncertain reports as to their ...
— Atlantic Monthly, Volume 7, Issue 42, April, 1861 • Various
... you I have been in France, and have eaten frogs. The nicest little rabbity things you ever tasted. Do look about for them. Make Mrs. Clare pick off the hind quarters, boil them plain, with parsley and butter. The four [crossed out] fore quarters are not so good. She may let them hop off by themselves. ...
— Charles Lamb • Walter Jerrold
... visit to Neighbor Case, whose house was in the nearest valley, and with whose sons Captain Smith had lain in concealment for some weeks on a former visit to the mountains. I was curious to see his sons, who were famous outliers. From safe cover they delighted to pick off a recruiting officer or a tax-in-kind collector, or tumble out of their saddles the last drivers of a wagon-train. These lively young men had been in unusual demand of late, and their hiding-place was not known even to the faithful, ...
— Famous Adventures And Prison Escapes of the Civil War • Various
... arms, ready for the attack which might be at hand. By dawn, they were well on their way towards the laager, fifteen miles distant, whence had come the scouting hand of Boers who, for two days past, had made leisurely efforts to pick off their scattered sentinels. At the head of the little troop rode Frazer. Behind him and as close to his heels as military law allowed, came Weldon, mounted on the same little black horse which had so often ...
— On the Firing Line • Anna Chapin Ray and Hamilton Brock Fuller
... occupied the line a couple of kilometers further on. Every one got out. Mr. Dunn jumped on his bicycle and wheeled off to La Cteau. Here he met the British retreating in good order. He remained with them as they retired toward Saint Quentin. He saw them spread out in thin lines and pick off the German gunners by their splendid marksmanship. Most of the British were wounded by shells. Very few of them had bullet wounds. At Saint Quentin a few Highlanders came limping along, thoroughly exhausted with their five days' continuous fighting. But although pale and hungry, their jaws were ...
— Paris War Days - Diary of an American • Charles Inman Barnard
... warfare. For example, a proportion of them, always the best marksmen, direct their fire entirely upon the wireless finding and sighting apparatus of the big guns of an attacking naval force; another detail attends to the smaller guns in the same way; others pick off the gunners; still others the officers; while certain other quotas concentrate their attention upon the other members of the crew, upon the upper works, and upon ...
— A Princess of Mars • Edgar Rice Burroughs
... swung on their backs. They kept a big supply of water and dried meat up there, and never went down except to hunt. They were a peaceful tribe that made cloth and pottery, and they went up there to get out of the wars. You see, they could pick off any war party that tried to get up their little steps. The Indians say they were a handsome people, and they had some sort of queer religion. Uncle Bill thinks they were Cliff-Dwellers who had got into trouble and left ...
— The Troll Garden and Selected Stories • Willa Cather
... while he was yet some distance from the redskin that Fred felt that his position was one of frightful peril. His foe had his rifle within easy reach, and, if he turned too soon, he could pick off his young assailant before he should arrive within striking distance,—but each moment raised the hopes of ...
— The Cave in the Mountain • Lieut. R. H. Jayne
... like pickin' money off a blackberry-bush, for I was goin' to let the Wild Dog have that black horse o' mine—the steadiest and fastest runner in this country—and my, how that fellow can pick off the rings! He's been a-practising for a year, and I believe he could run the point o' that spear of his through ...
— A Knight of the Cumberland • John Fox Jr.
... fallen trees, in rear by a sunken coal-barge, and surrounded, by a large force of rebels with an abundant supply of artillery, but wisely keeping their main force out of range of the admiral's guns. Every tree and stump covered a sharp-shooter, ready to pick off any luckless marine who showed his head above-decks, and entirely preventing the working-parties from ...
— Memoirs of Three Civil War Generals, Complete • U. S. Grant, W. T. Sherman, P. H. Sheridan
... the road going to the town, and there was a Scotch rogue on the road that was always trying what could he pick off others, and he saw the Connemara man—that was the Goban—had a nice cravat, and he thought he would get a hold of that. So he began talking with him, and he was boasting of all the money he had, ...
— The Kiltartan History Book • Lady I. A. Gregory
... a firm, well-shaped cauliflower, and after the preliminary soaking in cold salt water throw into a kettle of boiling water and cook half an hour, until tender. Drain, pick off the flowers and lay to one side, while you pick the stalks into small pieces. Lay on the bottom of a rather shallow buttered baking dish, sprinkle with pepper, grated cheese and cracker crumbs. Dot with pieces of butter. Add a little milk, then a layer of the flowerets and another ...
— Good Things to Eat as Suggested by Rufus • Rufus Estes
... shore, and either land men, or try and shatter the gig. Now, I tell you what: we'll intrench ourselves a bit, and then when they're near enough, and I've got the barrel resting in a fork of one of these trees, if I can't pick off a few men with a revolver, my name's not O'Halloran. Now, ...
— Mother Carey's Chicken - Her Voyage to the Unknown Isle • George Manville Fenn
... the two wings, of twenty-five men each, which manoeuvred on either side of the road under the orders of Merle and Gerard; their object being to catch the Chouans on the flank and prevent them from posting themselves as sharp-shooters among the trees, where they could pick off the Blues without risk to themselves; for in these wars the Republican troops never knew where to look ...
— The Chouans • Honore de Balzac
... the trees are loaded so heavily, if you would pick off a third of them you would get more out of ...
— Trees, Fruits and Flowers of Minnesota, 1916 • Various
... around for a minute, and then alighted upon her favorite sweet-meats, "pepnits." She chose for her portion a large amount of these, an harmonica, and a sugar pig, which Dotty assured her was not "colored." "Nothing but pink dots, and those you can pick off." ...
— Dotty Dimple's Flyaway • Sophie May
... and his men had had little to do so far. True, they had been able to pick off a German or two, but their position was such that they could be of little value at the moment. Their ...
— The Boy Allies At Verdun • Clair W. Hayes
... pick off a dozen of them, one after another, with my good rifle, and then the rest will fly. Grabantak will fall first, and his best ...
— The Giant of the North - Pokings Round the Pole • R.M. Ballantyne
... soil in search of some choice tid-bit of a worm turned up by the plow expressly for our dessert. We were indeed glad to be of use to the farmer by devouring these pests so destructive to his crops, but did not limit our labors to these places; we also made it our business to pick off the bugs and slugs that infested the fruit trees, and often extended our efforts to the tender young grape leaves in the arbor and the rose bushes and ...
— Dickey Downy - The Autobiography of a Bird • Virginia Sharpe Patterson
... his readiness to go, and to have my society; and so it was settled. Among his other accomplishments, he was a first-rate shot with a rifle, and it was reported, when he was before on the coast, that he used to pick off the men at the helm, and any of the crew who went aloft or appeared above the bulwarks, and had thus caused the capture of several slavers. I was to see this talent exerted. Jack Stretcher, who was a capital companion, went with us as coxswain. We were ...
— Salt Water - The Sea Life and Adventures of Neil D'Arcy the Midshipman • W. H. G. Kingston
... returned to the vicinity of the rock, screaming loudly; and some of them were audacious enough to pounce upon our caps, and wreak their vengeance by giving us one or two hearty pecks. The cockswain, working like a telegraph with his swinging oar, generally contrived to pick off these skirmishers. ...
— A Yacht Voyage to Norway, Denmark, and Sweden - 2nd edition • W. A. Ross
... Prepare Lettuce for Salad and for Garnishing.— Cut off the stalks from 3 or 4 heads of lettuce, pick off all the decayed and withered leaves, break the tender green leaves apart one by one and remove the thick veins; put the lettuce into cold water, rinse well and let it lay in ice water for 1/2 hour or longer; shortly before serving drain the lettuce in a colander; then put ...
— Desserts and Salads • Gesine Lemcke
... dry day, just before they begin to blossom; brush off the dust, cut them in small branches, and dry them quickly in a moderate oven; pick off the leaves when dry, pound and sift them—bottle them immediately, and cork them closely. They must be kept ...
— The Virginia Housewife • Mary Randolph
... water, pick off the dead leaves, put them in two quarts of boiling water, with a tablespoonful of salt, and a quarter teaspoonful of bi-carbonate of soda. Boil rapidly for twenty minutes with the saucepan uncovered, then drain in a colander, and serve with ...
— Vaughan's Vegetable Cook Book (4th edition) - How to Cook and Use Rarer Vegetables and Herbs • Anonymous
... them just as earnestly as they were trying to kill him. But they rarely got a clear view of him save in street fighting and, of course, when he was advancing across open country. Soldiers no longer select their man and pick him off as one would pick off a stag, because the great range of modern rifles has put the firing-lines too far apart for that sort of thing. Instead, therefore, of aiming at individuals, soldiers aim at the places where they believe those individuals to be. Each company commander shows his men their ...
— Fighting in Flanders • E. Alexander Powell
... the house of Mrs. Henry. She is lying there amidst its thunders. Rebel sharpshooters take possession of it, and pick off Rickett's gunners. He turns his guns upon the house. Crash! crash! crash! It is riddled with grape and canister. Sides, roof, doors, and windows are pierced, broken, and splintered. The bed-clothes are cut into rags, and the aged woman instantly ...
— My Days and Nights on the Battle-Field • Charles Carleton Coffin
... are these strange little pincers or rods? It is thought that the Urchin uses them in several ways. They may help in capturing small prey, or they may be used when the creature has to fight a larger enemy. They are also certainly of use as cleansing tools. That is to say, they can pick off tiny scraps of weed or dirt which settle on the animal's body. Some Starfishes also own pincers of this sort, but they are not so perfect as those of the funny little Urchin. We must not forget that all these spines, tube-feet, and pincers ...
— On the Seashore • R. Cadwallader Smith
... I had accepted I would have had to resign the nicest job I ever had. There wasn't much money in it, but it was filled with excitement and interesting experiments. I used to disguise myself as a Christmas tree or a box car and pick off German sharp-shooters. I was known as Peck's Bad Boy. I was often tempted to quit, but whenever I'd reflect on the number of American lives I was saving daily, a commission was just a ...
— The Go-Getter • Peter B. Kyne
... reward for its silence. Soon his battery is turned upon the particular offending gun with endeavor to compel its abandonment; in vain, for its work of destruction goes on. Captain Semmes places sharp-shooters in the quarter boats to pick off the officers; in vain, for none are injured. He views the surrounding devastation—a sinking ship, rudder and propeller disabled, a large portion of the crew killed or wounded, while his adversary is apparently but slightly damaged. He has completed the seventh rotation ...
— The Story of the Kearsarge and Alabama • A. K. Browne
... in equal number to your welcome present. I think I am indebted to you for a sonnet in the 'London' for August. Since I saw you I have been in France and have eaten frogs. The nicest little rabbity things you ever tasted. Do look about for them. Make Mrs. Clare pick off the hindquarters; boil them plain with parsley and butter. The fore quarters are not so good. She may let ...
— Life and Remains of John Clare - "The Northamptonshire Peasant Poet" • J. L. Cherry
... Pick off the outside leaves, soak in cold salted water, top downwards, for 1 hour. Tie it round with a piece of twine to prevent breaking. Cook in boiling salted water until tender, remove the string, turn into ...
— Public School Domestic Science • Mrs. J. Hoodless
... These insects are black, and as small as fleas, and gather in masses at the extremities of plants, ready to attach themselves to any animal that brushes against them. They then bury their claws in the flesh, and greedily suck the blood. It is a tedious job to pick off one by one these troublesome parasites, which cause an almost ...
— Adventures of a Young Naturalist • Lucien Biart
... their advance in a most gallant manner, while their artillery not only plastered our positions on shore with shrapnel, but actually tried to drive the ships off the coast by firing at them, and their desperate snipers, in place of a better target, tried to pick off officers and men on the decks and bridges. We picked up many ...
— New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 3, June, 1915 - April-September, 1915 • Various
... of interfering with your precious birds, I assure you," replied the hunter. "And if you require an explanation of the gun in June, I confess I did hope to be able to pick off a squirrel for a very sick friend. But I suppose for even such cause it would not be allowed on ...
— The Song of the Cardinal • Gene Stratton-Porter
... heed the mantlets in front," said Dickon, who was in command of the six archers near Guy, "but pick off those fellows as they come down. Shoot in turn; it is no use wasting two arrows on one man. Don't loose your shaft until a man is within three mantlets from the end; then if one misses, the next can ...
— At Agincourt • G. A. Henty
... militia came up, sober farmers of the village that lay below us buried in smoke; and our dragoons listened to the tales of these men, some of whom had been in the village when the onset came, and had remained there, skulking about to pick off the enemy until ...
— The Hidden Children • Robert W. Chambers
... crusty creatures you know well enough, and you can find it without going to the seaside, I mean the wood-louse, which I used to hear called a "carpenter" when I was a child. In damp places, you can hardly turn over a mossy stone, or pick off a bit of bark from a fallen tree, without disturbing a whole colony of these slate-coloured creatures, with their mailed coats, made of ten rings, or plates of armour. They seem to know the use of their armour well enough, for if disturbed ...
— Twilight And Dawn • Caroline Pridham |
