Meaning & use
pick'n'mix
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountableBritish
A way of buying sweets or small items by choosing several different ones from containers and paying by weight or amount.
Grammar: Used as a single idea, so no plural: 'pick'n'mix is popular', not 'a pick'n'mix are'.
Patterns
- a pick'n'mix selection
- pick'n'mix sweets
The children filled a bag with pick'n'mix at the cinema.
This shop sells pick'n'mix, so you can take as many or as few as you like.
adjectivebefore a noun
Consisting of a mixture of different things that you can choose freely from.
Grammar: Comes before a noun: 'a pick'n'mix approach', not 'the approach is pick'n'mix'.
Patterns
- a pick'n'mix approach
- a pick'n'mix selection
The course offers a pick'n'mix set of modules.
They took a pick'n'mix attitude to the furniture, buying pieces from several styles.
Common combinations
- pick'n'mix sweets
- He bought a big bag of pick'n'mix sweets for the party.
- a pick'n'mix selection
- The album is a pick'n'mix selection of their best songs.
- pick'n'mix approach
- The teacher used a pick'n'mix approach, letting students choose their own topics.
Synonyms and how they differ
- assortment
- A more formal word for a collection of different types, but it does not suggest that you choose them yourself.
- selection
- Similar, but 'selection' can mean just the range available, not the act of choosing a mixture.
Practice
In British English, which sentence uses 'pick'n'mix' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Pick'n'mix' is a noun or adjective, not a verb, so it cannot be used as 'I pick'n'mix' or 'is pick'n'mix'. It is uncountable, so 'The pick'n'mix are' is wrong. Only 'a bag of pick'n'mix' uses it correctly as a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pick'n'mix”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.