carry a torch for

To be infatuated with: “Frank may be engaged to Helen, but I think he still carries a torch for Laura.”

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Idioms and Phrases

Also, carry the torch for . Continue to feel the pain of unreciprocated love for, as in Jane has been carrying the torch for Bill for at least a year . The torch in this term alludes to the heat of love or passion. [1920s]

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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