The Mikado, Act I, vocabulary

taking little thing

This colloquial, informal, use of taking (used as a present participle) was common in Gilbert's day. It has the sense of "captivating, engaging, alluring, fascinating, charming, attractive" -- something "[t]hat takes the fancy or affection." Although the word was colloquial, its use was not new at the end of the nineteenth century.

For example, the first edition of the OED lists usages from

Volpone

Prior's 1731 [?]Songs: "Phillis has such a taking way, She charms my very soul" (xv, II).

Pebody's 1882 Eng. Journalism "The secret of immediate success in a public writer is said to be mediocre ideas and a taking style" (XIX. 143).

This definition is based on the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, which requires a little explanation.

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Last update: 11 April 1998.