What is the origin of the idiom don't cotton to that?

Answer 1

This phrase dates from somewhere in the 16th Century. Originally, it was a textile term - to "cotton" or "cotton well" referred to the success of the fibers melding together to form cotton cloth. Around the 16th Century, the phrase began to be used to mean "to be successful," or "to prosper" in reference to people and things. About the 19th Century, the phrase "to cotton to" began to see use, and meant "to be drawn to" or "to get along with." If you do not "cotton to" something, then you don't care for it. This phrase is particularly common in the South, where the cotton industry formed the basis for the economy for many years.