spitting image

American  

noun

Informal.

1. spit.

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spitting image British  

noun

1. Also called: spit.   spit and image.  informal a person who bears a strong physical resemblance to another, esp to a relative

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spitting image Idioms  

1. A precise resemblance, especially in closely related persons. For example, Dirk is the spitting image of his grandfather. This idiom alludes to the earlier use of the noun spit for “likeness,” in turn probably derived from an old proverb, “as like as one as if he had been spit out of his mouth” (c. 1400). The current idiom dates from about 1900.

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Etymology

Origin of spitting image

1925–30; from the phrase spit and image ( spit ¹ ) by confusion of spit and with spittin'; compare earlier the very spit of the exact likeness of

Example Sentences

Apparently “getting that bread” is in-game slang for getting a good loot drop, and there’s also a gun in the game that’s the spitting image of a toaster.

From The Verge

In the first photo, Lily, 32, looks like the spitting image of Anderson as she poses in a revealing black leather crop top with a tie in front.

From Fox News

The photo came with even more of a shock factor given that she was standing next to her granddaughter, Camellia Somers, 25, who many believe is a spitting image of the actress.

From Fox News

Kelly Ripa is the spitting image of her mom and people are blown away.

From Fox News

“When I moved to quarterback at Kentucky, I was like, ‘Why not watch him,’ because he was basically a spitting image of me.

From Seattle Times