Idiom: take to someone

A cat wearing a business suit sits at a table with two businessmen. Outside the door, the boss says "Achoo! #@!* Cats!" Caption: Don't worry, Skeeter, the Big Guy is really gonna take to you.

Idiom: take to someone

Can you guess the meaning of the idiom "take to someone" by looking at the comic above? "Skeeter" is obviously the cat and the "Big Guy" is the boss.  Unfortunately, by the sounds of sneezing, someone is allergic to cats...

take to someone (or something):   to start to like someone (or doing something).

So, you can see that sadly, although the cat's colleagues think the big boss is going to love him, he is probably not going to like him because he has an allergy to cats.

In fact, he's already started sneezing in the hallway before he's met him. So, it's safe to say he's not going to take to Skeeter. 

Poor kitty!

Notes:  

As noted above, this idiom can be used to talk about starting to like someone  or something.  The following examples will make things even clearer.


Examples

— We are a perfect match but believe it or not, my husband and I didn't take to each other the first time we met.

— Luckily, my in-laws took to me immediately and we have great fun together.

— Wow! You must have really taken to running if you're planning on doing a marathon.

— I finally taken to riding the Metro. I'm able to get an additional 30 minutes of sleep in the morning and I read on the way home.

— My children seem to have taken to college very well. In fact, they're having so much fun they never call me anymore.

— If you don't take to the contact lenses, please come back and we'll find another solution.

— As a country girl, I'm surprised how well you've taken to New York City.

— I love my new job but I haven't taken to many of my colleagues. Most have been unfriendly, unhelpful and even rude!

— We're absolutely delighted our kids have taken to their new nanny.

— I only lived in Seattle for six months because I couldn't take to the rainy weather there. It was so gray and depressing all the time.

— I never dreamed I’d take to skydiving but I love it.

— My cat has taken to sleeping on the window sill in the mornings.

— My dog takes to anyone who scratches her ears.

— Luckily, my father-in-law took to me the first time we met.


Synonyms

  • take a liking to someone/something
  • warm to someone/something

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