Is it correct to say:
You cast my mind back to those days. Now, I feel like crying.
Thanks.
Last edited by Nathan Mckane; 01-Aug-2011 at 09:32.
No. You cast your (own) mind back when you make a deliberate effort to recall things. You can ask somebody else to cast their mind back, but you cannot cast it for them.
So what can I say instead? You brought my mind back to the old days?
'That takes me back.'
'Made me remember the old days'/'Brought them to mind'/'Conjured them up'/'Evoked them'/... or, more dramatically, something like 'When you said that, for a moment I was back in the ...' or 'Your words made the old days come alive/brought them to life'.
To amplify 5jj's example, the one who says 'casts' needn't be the one who thinks back; but there is always the sense of a deliberate effort of memory. I might say 'Cast your mind back to the time when...'
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