# Chodzić za



## Szkot

I am puzzled by the highlighted phrase in the following quotation (Z. Miłoszewski, Gniew):



> ... do swojego domu ..., gdzie ... czekałaby na męża, żeby jej przygotował żółte curry ze szpinakiem, które *chodziło za nią* od poniedziałku.



What has been going on since Monday (it's now Thursday)?


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## zaffy

If something 'chodzi za tobą (following you)', you think about it all the time.  So she has been thinking a lot about spinach curry since Monday. Looks like she loves eating that dish and can't wait to have it.


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## Szkot

Thank you - it takes all sorts .


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## RaphaelRaphael

Sometimes it sounds so simple and you really do not know how to say ...


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## jasio

Actually, it's not so much about thinking alone, it's more about a desire. Weaker than in case of dreaming about something, but still persistent. You may use it with dishes you would like to eat, things you want to buy, some abstract ideas, like vacation, sometimes even pets, albeit in such cases it should be clear from context what you actually mean. I don't think I've heard it referring to people though. 

Please note that there is also another idiom referring to persistent thoughts: prześladować. For obvious reasons it refers to unpleasant ideas.


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## grassy

zaffy said:


> So she has been thinking a lot about spinach curry since Monday


That's how I understand it too.


jasio said:


> Actually, it's not so much about thinking alone, it's more about a desire.


I am afraid that it's as much about thinking as it is about desiring. After all, we often think about what we desire.


Szkot said:


> (Z. Miłoszewski, Gniew):


Poleciłbyś tę książkę, Szkocie?


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## jasio

grassy said:


> I am afraid that it's as much about thinking as it is about desiring. After all, we often think about what we desire.


Not really. After all, you may think about something without wanting it, can't you? Would you say in such case that "coś za Tobą chodzi"?


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## grassy

jasio said:


> After all, you may think about something without wanting it, can't you? Would you say in such case that "coś za Tobą chodzi"?


We seem to agree that the expression, as used in the OP, means that the wife wanted the yellow curry. Zaffy and I take it to include the nuance of thinking a lot about something, which, in the context of food, implies wanting that particular food item.


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## jasio

grassy said:


> We seem to agree that the expression, as used in the OP, means that the wife wanted the yellow curry. Zaffy and I take it to include the nuance of thinking a lot about something, which, in the context of food, implies wanting that particular food item.


I've never questioned the "wanting" aspect (a "temptation" could be a better word in some contexts). On the contrary, from my perspective it's the most important, perhaps decisive. I only question the "thinking" aspect as such, which is not the same. Compare "prześladuje mnie to". It also reflects persistent thoughts (or memories, which are also a form of thinking), but this time they are rather unpleasant.


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