spitting image

noun

, Informal.

1. spit ¹( def 13 ).

spitting image

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of spitting image¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of spitting image¹

C19: modification of spit and image, from spit ¹(as in the phrase the very spit of, the exact likeness of (someone))

Idioms and Phrases

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.

Example Sentences

“People have told me that I look like him, act like him, that my kids are the spitting image of him,” she said.

From The Daily Beast

His son is 11 now, and he is the spitting image of his father.

From The Daily Beast

Then, all at once, I realized I was looking at the spitting image of myself.

From Project Gutenberg

Tiny, malformed, and bandy-legged, it was still the spitting image of him.

From Project Gutenberg