hanker(ing)
verb (noun)

- to have a strong or persistent desire (often used with for or after)

Merriam-Webster

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ORIGIN

c. 1600, “linger in expectation” “have a longing or craving for”. Probably from Flemish hankeren, related to Dutch hunkeren “to hanker, to long for,” from Middle Dutch hangen “to hang”

Compare English hang - in hang on (someone’s) every word.

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NOT EATING IN NEW YORK

NEW YORK (AP) — So one night, the story goes, Justin Bieber was in town, and had a HANKERING for Italian food. Not just any Italian, but Rao’s, the tiny restaurant by a park in East Harlem that’s been around for 120 years — and is one of the hardest-to-get tables in the country, let alone the city.

Some “serious society types” made inquiries for Bieber, according to an anecdote in the new cookbook, “Rao’s Classics.” But the place was booked with regulars, as always. Would heaven and earth be moved? The answer came crisply and succinctly: “No one gives a F - - - about Justin Bieber.”

Many things are said to be impossible in Manhattan. A taxi at rush hour in the rain. A parking spot on a Saturday night. “Hamilton” tickets in the current century.

But let’s be precise. Those things are difficult, but not impossible.

You know what’s impossible? Getting a reservation at Rao’s.

The first thing to know is that Rao’s has only 10 tables, serving 60-ish diners a night — one leisurely seating only (and no lunch.) The next is that these tables have been assigned for years. People have their regular nights. A table can be handed down in a family, or gifted to a friend for a night, or auctioned for charity at many (many!) thousands of dollars for an evening.

As the Zagat guide says, it “practically takes an act of Congress” to get a table.

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SYNONYMS

desire, longing, hunger, pining, urge, yen, craving, itch, thirst, yearning, ache, appetite, lust, need

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Practice OWAD in an English conversation, say something like:

“I’ve been HANKERING for the weekend - have a good one.”

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EIN GROSSES DANKESCHÖN to Friends-of-OWAD who are helping me keep the service alive with single or monthly donations:

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