"We need to do this in a better way because the manager is very picky about quality"
Although this sentence does seem grammatically correct to me. But is it ok to add very with picky? Because picky already means very careful. Or is there a different word one can use for very picky
-
Could picky be thought of or used as a metaphor too in a sentence? It does seem to have a figurative meaning– nickuCommented Mar 27, 2023 at 20:33
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
I would not replace picky with "very careful", it often (not always) has a bit of a negative conotation.
It can mean selective as in "tending to select carefully" or choosy as in "hard to please".
In your example I would translate it as "the manager is hard to please when it comes to quality" so adding very is perfectly fine: "The manager is very hard to please when it comes to quality."
-
-
"Careful" might suggest that the manager is very conscientious in their own work, while "picky" or "choosy" suggests an attitude to other people's work.– Stuart FCommented Mar 27, 2023 at 21:10
-
I have seen both version, but the dictionary clearly says choosy. Thank you @MichaelHarvey . Amended.– AnkeCommented Mar 27, 2023 at 22:04
-
You never really explain why the "negative connotation" makes "very careful" a bad translation. After all, M-W includes "very careful" in its definition of "choosy", and perhaps OP wants a negative connotation. Commented Mar 28, 2023 at 1:31