I took a repugnance/ disgust to flies?

A

anapascualina

Senior Member
York, Uk
Español, España
Hello:)
Could someone correct this translation for me? Does it make sense in English?
Is it possible to say "took a repugnance to" something?
Thank you
anapascualina

I took a repugnance/ disgust to flies. I had the feeling it came for me. That the fly smelt that it was less life or whatever. The feeling of not having hair and that the fly buzz around my head was a kind of phobia, but excessive! Perhaps I felt unprotected without hair”
 
    • I have never heard "took a repugnance" to - it is normal to "take a dislike to", which implies that one has some level of control over the feeling. One doesn't have control of something as strong as 'repugnance' - it is a reflexive reaction.
     
    What an unfortunate experience you're describing!

    I don't think "took" in this construction is good idiomatic AE. I wish I could offer a good one-syllable substitute, but the most idiomatic words I can come up with are developed, conceived and began to feel. "I felt a disgust" by itself is okay, but it doesn't strongly imply an ongoing state that began at a certain point.

    Often you can improve your sentence by avoiding indirect or passive constructions. "Flies started to disgust me..." or "...really disgust me," depending on what register you want. "...disgust me more intensely..." or something like that if you want to fine-tune the idea of simple disgust and make it more ominous or scary.

    Is this your writing? It certainly communicates an experience, a state of mind. I hope it's fiction!
    .
     
    anapascualina said:
    Hello:)
    Could someone correct this translation for me? Does it make sense in English?
    Is it possible to say "took a repugnance to" something?
    Thank you
    anapascualina

    I took a repugnance/ disgust to flies. I had the feeling it came for me. That the fly smelt that it was less life or whatever. The feeling of not having hair and that the fly buzz around my head was a kind of phobia, but excessive! Perhaps I felt unprotected without hair”
    Click to expand...

    If you are disgusted by flies, the common way to say it in English would be, "_____ make me sick." So, you could simply say Flies make me sick, and it would sound normal.
     
    Thank you very much for your suggestions :)
    I am trying to translate my field work data the most accurately I can!
    It is pretty hard for me:p
    anapascualina
     
    I developed... can sometimes be used this way, but I'm not sure it would work here.
    I developed a revulsion to flies. (Revulsion sounds particularly strong to me, if that's what you want.)
     
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