to cotton to

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.

'To cotton to one,' is to take a liking to him; to fancy him; literally to stick to him, as cotton would. The term is very common at the South and West.


There were divers queer characters on board the steamer, with whom Tom was a great favorite; but none of them cotton'd to him more kindly than an elderly hoosier, from the innermost depths of Indiana.--Field.

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