spitting image

American  

noun

Informal.

1. spit.

---

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

---

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.

---

Etymology

Origin of spitting image

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

Example Sentences

Given that Martin is both an investor in and adviser to Colossal, it feels awfully convenient that the company is heavily promoting wolves that are the spitting image of those in his fantasy series.

From Slate • Apr. 10, 2025

And after all, Zuckerberg has long considered himself the spitting image of Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar so it's only right.

From Salon • Jan. 15, 2025

"He looked like the spitting image of a man I had a holiday romance with years ago. I liked the fact he spent his life helping others, the altruism attracted me to him."

From BBC • Feb. 14, 2024

They decorated a cookie cake in the spitting image of the Eagles center, and pictures of it posted to social media quickly went viral.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 4, 2024

“Isn’t this the spitting image of old Ev Olson?” she asked Pa. He nodded and chuckled.

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney