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- take a fancy to
take a fancy to
take a fancy to someone or something
and take a liking to someone or something; take a shine to someone or somethingto develop a fondness or a preference for someone or something. John began to take a fancy to Sally late last August at the picnic. I've never taken a liking to cooked carrots. I think my teacher has taken a shine to me.
take a fancy to somebody/something
to start liking someone or wanting something very much I think my sister has taken a fancy to you.
take a fancy to
Also, take a liking or shine to . Be attracted to someone or something, as in They took a fancy to spicy foods after their Mexican vacation, or I'm hoping he'll take a liking to the water, now that we have a cottage on a lake, or We think Bill's taken a shine to Betsy. The first term was first recorded in 1541, the first variant in 1570, and the last, a colloquialism, in 1850.
Common Names:
Name | Gender | Pronounced | Usage |
Adalbern | | - | Ancient Germanic |
ÉLie | | - | French |
Shirlee | | SHUR-lee | English |
Liese | | LEE-zə (German), LEE-sə (Dutch) | German, Dutch |
Sky | | SKIE | English (Modern) |
Sanjay | | - | Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Odia, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Nepali |