pick on with a dubious meaning

[ROFTOK]

I have come across these:
to choose someone or something
1 He picked on two of her statements that he said were untrue.

pick on phrasal verb - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced American Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of pick on phrasal verb in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com

to single out; choose:
2 The teacher tended to pick on her often because she came to class prepared.
Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2022

to single out; choose:
3 The professor always picks on me to translate long passages.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2022

Do you find them correct with the meaning to choose?

 

[jutfrank]

For me, pick on has such a heavy sense of unfair treatment (e.g. The girls picked on her because of her size) that these examples seem odd at best.

 

[ROFTOK]

That's the issue. They are found in dictionaries which is surprising.

 

[5jj]

It's hardly surprising. 'Pick on' can convey those meanings. Oxford does give the unfair meaning first.

 

[ROFTOK]

It's hardly surprising. 'Click on' can convey those meanings. Oxford does give the unfair meaning first.

What does click on have to do with pick on?

 

[5jj]

Sorry. Typo - now corrected.

 

[Holmes]

I have come across these:
to choose someone or something
1 He picked on two of her statements that he said were untrue.

pick on phrasal verb - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced American Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of pick on phrasal verb in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com

to single out; choose:
2 The teacher tended to pick on her often because she came to class prepared.
Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2022

to single out; choose:
3 The professor always picks on me to translate long passages.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2022

Do you find them correct with the meaning to choose?

The first two examples are extentions of the meaning "To single out for unfair or unkind attention or adverse criticism; to victimize" (the first meaning given by The Oxford English Dictionary online, to which I subscribe). Example 1 applies that meaning to statements rather than to a person. If someone wants to criticize an argument, he will usually find at least one point to pick on (argue against, undermine, refute, rebut, destroy).

Example 2 is essentially an exaggeration. Although it would be unfair for a teacher to ask one student questions more than he or she asks other students questions, it is only natural for a teacher to do this when that student tends to be the only student in the class who comes to class prepared. I tend to "pick on" some of my students in that sense, and these students seem to feel honored by it. They appreciate being "victims" in this positive way.

The third example doesn't work for me with "on." While "pick someone to do something" can be used instead of "choose someone to do something," "pick on someone to do something" is not a usage with which I am familiar at all and does not sound natural to me at all. Of course, we could easily change the construction to "pick on someone by having them do something": "The professor always picks on me by having me translate long passages."