Pick and choose means to select carefully, selectively, or according to preference, sometimes unfairly or inconsistently. In poetry, the idiom can apply to memory, tradition, love, morality, belief, or social opportunity. A speaker may pick and choose what to remember, which rules to follow, or whom to value. The phrase is useful because selection is central to poetic craft: poets choose images, sounds, and omissions. It can also criticise hypocrisy when someone accepts only the convenient parts of a truth.

Pick and choose means select carefully, sometimes with freedom, sometimes with excessive fussiness. In poetry, it can describe memory, love, moral judgement, anthology-making, shopping, or the selective use of tradition. The phrase is useful for discussing poetic craft itself: poets pick words, images, and rhythms from abundance. Students should ask who has the privilege to choose and who must accept what is given.