Meaning of pick-me-up | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A drink, often an alcoholic one, taken as a stimulant or sometimes as a hangover cure; a restorative, tonic or bracer.
   informal
2. Something that improves one's mood.

Equivalents

Examples

“Strong tea is just the pick-me-up that I need⟳ right now.”

“He brought a hip flask along, just in case he needs a little pick-me-up later.”

“Adonis calls for a ‘pick-me-up’ before he has strength enough to answer⟳ a billet-doux from Venus. Adonis has not the strength to get⟳ nobly drunk, but his delicate constitution requires stimulants, and he is always tippling.”

“Make⟳ half-a-pint of beef-tea in a tumbler with this extract. Put⟳ the tumbler in a refrigerator for an hour, then add⟳ a liqueur-glassful of old brandy, with just a dust of cayenne. This is one of the very best pick-me-ups known to the faculty.”

“"I'm feeling fine today," pursued Gideon, advancing a step and so bringing himself about halfway to the table. "Had a couple of pick-me-ups and a fat breakfast. How are you?"”

“In fact I did not feel⟳ good. I was suffering from the morning sickness of the steady, heavy drinker. What I needed was a pick-me-up, a bracer.”

“I have⟳ had occasion, I fancy, to speak⟳ before now of these pick-me-ups of Jeeves’s and their effect on a fellow who is hanging to life by a thread on the morning after. What they consist⟳ of, I couldn’t tell⟳ you. He says some kind of sauce, the yolk of a raw egg and a dash of red pepper, but nothing will convince⟳ me that the thing doesn’t go much deeper than that.”

“God, he needed a drink⟳. Just a little pick-me-up to put⟳ things in their true perspective— […]”

“A trip⟳ into town for lunch with my friend was a nice pick-me-up today.”

“A month or so of winter sport seemed a desirable pick-me-up after the strenuous work⟳ and crowning discomfiture of the election.”

“Those Austrian desserts we all know⟳ and love⟳, sacher torte, linzer torte, apfelstrudel and the like⟳, as well as Bavarian chocolate, peach torte and jailhouse pie, are $2.25 or $2.50 and — with a cup of cafe mocha — a delightful afternoon pick-me-up.”

“Have⟳ to keep⟳ reminding myself that I’m also a happily married woman—but it is nice to be noticed as a woman for a change⟳ (and to have⟳ my fantasy life given such a pick-me-up).”

“Meeting Marlene had been such a pick-me-up, but at the same time, it was a grim reminder that Allen was not healed.”

“Glen Medeiros and Bobby Brown are on KDWB right now performing She Ain’t Worth It, and it is such a pick-me-up.”

“Nothing brightens your day like⟳ an unexpected check in the mail, letter to the editor, or sign⟳ of support⟳ from a strong quarter. Such a pick-me-up is welcome⟳, and frequently happens at a time where you most need⟳ a boost⟳.”

“Carrie’s cats have⟳ been such a pick-me-up. There’s always one that needs a cuddle and there’s a lot to be said for fur therapy.”

“According to [Kiminobu] Sugaya, music also increases dopamine release⟳ in a specific part of the brain, similar to that of illegal drugs. It’s like⟳ a cerebral Woodstock, only with musical rather than chemical stimulants (and better hygiene). In other words, it’s time to tune⟳ into a happier you. Next to showering, it’s one of the easiest things you can do to give⟳ yourself and immediate pick-me-up.”

CEFR level