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To cotton to

Posted by ESC on February 15, 2003

In response to a post on the archived board:

TO COTTON TO (THING OR PERSON) - ".it was used by Dickens (Old Curiosity Shop) more than a hundred years ago with just the present meaning, to get along with or to like a thing or person.The origin is lost, but probably referred in some manner to the readiness with which cotton adheres to a napped surface." From 2107 Curious Word Origins, Sayings & Expressions from White Elephants to Song and Dance by Charles Earle Funk (Galahad Book, New York, 1993).

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