pickin' and grinnin'

• picking and grinning

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pickin' and grinnin' (uncountable)

1. (chiefly US, music, idiomatic) Vigorous playing of folk or country music on a stringed musical instrument, especially the guitar or banjo, while smiling broadly.
   • 1987, Scott Mervis, "Country Slickers," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 20 Mar., p. 19 (retrieved 3 Jan. 2009):

     From Kenny Rogers and Ronnie Milsap there was a lot less pickin’ and grinnin’ and a lot more soft rockers and heartbroken love ballads.

   • 2008, Joe Edwards, "Guitar-playing 'ambassador' greets visitors at Nashville's Hall of Fame," USA Today, 25 Jun. (retrieved 3 Jan. 2009):

     In this city of guitars and grits, Andersen is the ambassador of pickin’ and grinnin’.