to use a pickaxe; to cram, to swot, to grind (e.g., for an exam); to slog away, drudge (to work very hard); to pick, choose, select from a set of options; to draw from the deck
pioneer, soldier employed to form roads, dig trenches, and make bridges, as an army advances; pioneer, one who goes before, as into the wilderness, preparing the way for others to follow; precursor; pioneer, child of 10–16 years in the former Soviet Union, in the second of the three stages in becoming a member of the Communist Party