A: Can I work dayshifts only? I have signed up for a painting course at the community evening school.

B: We are short of hands here, so, sorry, you can’t just cherry-pick what you want.

Note: This term means “to choose something very carefully to ensure that the best option is chosen, perhaps through means that provide one an unfair advantage or from a selection that others do not have ready access to.” In certain varieties of cherry tree the fruits ripens at different time — rather like strawberries — and it’s necessary to choose between the ripe red fruit which are ready to eat and the “not yet red enough” fruit which definitely are not. Hence the term “to cherry-pick” means to choose the best from those on offer. Therefore, when someone cherry-picks something, they’re taking the best part, leaving behind the less desired.