have a thing for someone
Meaning: To be attracted to someone.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “Everyone knows he has a thing for the new barista.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: "Thing" as a vague word for a strong liking or obsession. The use is common from the mid-20th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- Polish: Czuć do kogoś miętę — literally: To feel mint towards someone
- Icelandic: Að ganga með grasið í skónum — literally: To walk with the grass in your shoes
More idioms — Daily Life
- a vicious circle — A situation where one problem causes another, which makes the first worse.
- a ballpark figure — A rough estimate.
- make someone's life hell — To make someone very unhappy for a long time.
- sweep something under the rug — To hide a problem instead of dealing with it.
- play for time — To delay deliberately in the hope of improving one's position.
- even Homer nods — Even the most skilled people sometimes make mistakes.
More English idioms
- too many cooks spoil the broth — When too many people work on something, the result is worse.
- birds of a feather flock together — People with similar interests or character tend to spend time together.
- wish the ground would swallow one up — To feel so embarrassed that one wants to disappear.
- have one's head screwed on — To be sensible and practical.
- a bird-brain — A silly or scatterbrained person.
- toss one's cookies — To vomit.
From our untranslatable words
- Chōu kōng — To steal a moment of escape from a hectic schedule — finding a sliver of free time and us…
- Jugaad — A creative, frugal fix — a clever improvised solution that gets things done with whatever…
- Cafuné — The tender act of running your fingers through someone's hair — an intimate gesture of lo…