[Idiom] I DON'T HALF FANCY YOU

[EverLivingPoet]

"I don't half fancy you."

I heard that sentence on some British show. What does it mean?

 

[sunsunmoon]

Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary
not half

1 : not nearly
▪ He's not half the fool you think he is. = He's not half so foolish as you think he is. [=he is much smarter than you think he is]
▪ an aging baseball player who is not half the hitter he once was [=he is not nearly as good as a hitter as he once was]

2 Brit, informal — used to emphasize a statement or description
▪ She doesn't half swear! [=she swears a lot]
▪ It's not half cold today! [=it is very cold today]
▪ “Is it cold out?” “Not half!” [=yes, it is very cold]
​

"She doesn't half swear!" means "she swears a lot," so does "I don't half fancy you" mean "I fancy you a lot [I like you a lot]"?

 

[Rover_KE]

Yes, sunsunmoon - in BE "I don't half fancy you" means "I fancy you a lot [I like you a lot]".

Rover

 

[AlexAD]

I am not a teacher nor a native speaker.

I agree with sunsunmoon in that there are two options available here.
I don't understand (really!) why Rover excluding 1 in his answer concerning British accent.

To give you an example, here is what I heard from a film made by the famous film maker Guy Ritchi with lots of British actors playing:

'But you've got to hand it to Len because he ain't half a naugty bastard'
Here, I think, they are speaking about Len isn't as bad as you may think.

Thanks, Alex.

 

[Rover_KE]

'But you've got to hand it to Len because he ain't half a naugty bastard'
Here, I think, they are speaking about Len isn't as bad as you may think.

On the contrary. Len is a very naughty bastard indeed.

On this rare occasion he has done something commendable.

Think of him as being not half a naughty bastard but a complete one.

Rover

 

[AlexAD]

I think either is possible. It depends on how one feels about the situation.

 

[Barb_D]

I think you need to listen to the native British speaker on this, and accept that "not half" means "quite, very much, a lot." It's not "less than half" in this construction.

 

[Tdol]

I agree with Rover here- the speaker is very attracted to the person and Len is a real bastard. I too would exclude the first option from both these examples.