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take a fancy to

take a fancy to idiom

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.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.