pick up the pieces

idiom

: to try to make a situation better after something bad has happened

After her business went bankrupt, she picked up the pieces and started again.

Examples of pick up the pieces in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Told through the families of Shamony Gibson and Amber Rose Issac, two young women who died due to childbirth complications, Aftershock explores some damning statistics in our healthcare system, centers on the families left to pick up the pieces, and demands a call to action. —Aramide Tinubu, Essence, 18 July 2022

She was left to pick up the pieces of her shattered family. —Dallas News, 28 Feb. 2022

The four went off into different corners as their managers and record company tried to pick up the pieces. —David Browne, Rolling Stone, 3 Feb. 2022

Barry Chin/Globe Staff In Saugus, Stephanie Gerardi’s sisters are still trying to pick up the pieces following her death. —Laura Crimaldi, BostonGlobe.com, 3 June 2023

Liberal political observers are trying to pick up the pieces, arguing the agreement avoids default and keeps the economy from diving off a cliff – which incidentally would've put a major dent on Biden's reelection hopes. —Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 1 June 2023

While the new app will try to pick up the pieces and outdo its predecessor’s abysmal App Store review score on May 25th, the camera and lens are both set to launch around June 29th. —Antonio G. Di Benedetto, The Verge, 24 May 2023

Whilst Elliot fights with his own demons, Helen is left to pick up the pieces of a larger mystery; forcing them both to confront foes, old and new. —Alex Ritman, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Feb. 2023

For the Ukrainian authorities coming in to pick up the pieces and restore the local government, the task is both immense and still dangerous. —Carlotta Gall Ivor Prickett, New York Times, 24 Oct. 2022