single out

single out (third-person singular simple present singles out, present participle singling out, simple past and past participle singled out)

1. (transitive) To select one from a group and treat differently.
   • 1974, Robert M[aynard] Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values, New York, N.Y.: William Morrow & Company, →ISBN:

     He singled out aspects of Quality such as unity, vividness, authority, economy, sensitivity, clarity, emphasis, flow, suspense, brilliance, precision, proportion, depth and so on; kept each of these as poorly defined as Quality itself, but demonstrated them by the same class reading techniques.

   • 2011 December 29, Keith Jackson, “SPL: Celtic 1 Rangers 0”, in Daily Record‎:

     This time it was Celtic who were forced to hit on the break and when they did, they singled out Broadfoot.

   • 2023 March 8, Howard Johnston, “Was Marples the real rail wrecker?”, in RAIL, number 978, page 53:

     It also singled out ten routes (all closed except Leeds-Bradford/Ilkley) to show how costs outstripped earnings, without mention of what through-journey revenue they generated for the main lines to which they were connected.

• in the crosshairs

• loungiest, touseling