cottons on
Gets the picture
To cotton on is to grasp or understand something, especially after initial confusion: It took me a while, but I finally cottoned on to what she was hinting at.
Chiefly British.
The phrase often implies delayed realization—catching on to something that others already understood.
- catch onGrasp or gain popularity
- get itUnderstand, often informally
- get the pictureAchieve full understanding
- comprehendTo fully understand
- twigSlender woody shoot
grasp · suss out · put two and two together · recognize · deduce · perceive · infer · figure out · pick up on · discern · get the message · latch onto · wise up · learn · tumble to · realise · absorb · see the light
comprehension
cottons onmisses the point
Fails to understand core
misunderstands · misses · misreads · misconstrues · loses the plot