Phrase Origins: Cotton On

I have never heard anybody use the phrase "cotton on" that I can remember. When I hear a phrase that ends with the word "on," it usually means to continue or that somebody is joking. I know there are phrases that end with the word "on" that mean other things, but those are the first things that come to mind. For some reason, when just hearing the phrase "cotton on," it makes me think of the phrase "you're putting me on," I'm sure that I'm wrong about this, though. I usually am wrong.

Looking up what the phrase means, I was only correct in saying that I was wrong about the meaning. The phrase "cotton on" means "to get to know something" or "to get to understand something."

I'm not sure how that works. Cotton is a fiber and a plant. Perhaps the people who picked cotton thought that they got to know it so well because it could hurt them while picking it. They probably felt that they got to know cotton intimately. Of course, this probably isn't the correct origin of the phrase, either.

As usual, my guess wasn't correct. However, it is close to one of the theories. One of the theories states that the phrase "cotton on" originated because moist cotton would stick to everything, so to cotton on to somebody was to become attracted to them. This theory is put as a definition in the 1869 work, Slang Dictionary , by John Camden Hotten. He wrote, "Cotton, to like, adhere to, or agree with any person; "to COTTON on to a man," to attach yourself to him, or fancy him, literally, to stick to him as cotton would."

Another theory is that it refers to how cotton clothing would stick to other cotton clothing during a romantic encounter.

What is known is that the phrase "cotton on" was coined in the United Kingdom. The first uses seem to be from Australia and New Zealand.

Early uses can be seen in a March 1883 edition of the New South Wales, Australia newspaper, The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advisor that says, "A lot [of backers] then cottoned on to Sahara, who was a strong favourite," and a June 1893 edition of the New Zealand newspaper, The Wanganui Herald that says, "The Kaierau forwards are just beginnng to cotton on to the passing game."

The phrase "cotton on" didn't become popular in the United States. In the southern United States, people use the phrase "cotton to" to mean "take a liking to."

Source:

Martin, G. (n.d.). Cotton on to. The meanings and origins of sayings and phrases . Retrieved April 28, 2011, from http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/cotton-on.html