pick

France and Russia have the pick of our stables.

It's better to amble around, drop the "pick" for a lunchtime swim or beachcomb, then find a nice anchorage for the night.

Take down my buckler […] and grind the pick on 't.

If it be in the smallest degree gritty, it clogs the form, and consequently produces a thick and imperfect impression; no pains should, therefore, be spared to render it perfectly smooth; it may then be made to work as clear and free from picks

so many picks to an inch

‘She's all African grass and Brahmans. There's not a blade of native pick left, except on the ridges.’