Idiom
Spitting image
If someone is the spitting image of another person, they look exactly like that person.
How people use it
The usual pattern is "the spitting image of" someone: "She's the spitting image of her grandmother." It is most often about family resemblance, but people also use it for look-alikes, pets or objects that match closely. The tone is informal and friendly. Some people say "spit and image," an older form, but spitting image is far more common today. Despite the wording, it is not about spitting: the word spit here once meant an exact likeness.
Also said: spit and image, the spitting image of.
Examples
- With those curls and that laugh, Grace is the spitting image of her mother at that age.
- The puppy we adopted is the spitting image of the dog I had as a kid.
- Strangers kept asking Ben if he was related to the coach, since he was the spitting image of him.
Where it comes from
In the late 1600s, writers already described a child as so like a parent that he could have been spat out of the parent's mouth. In the 1800s people said someone was "the very spit of" another, and then "spit and image." Spitting image followed around 1900. Some claim it was once "spirit and image" or "splitting image," but the records do not support either story.
Check yourself
1. If Sam is the spitting image of his dad, what is true?
Answer: Sam looks just like his dad. The spitting image of someone means looking exactly like them.
2. Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Answer: The twins are the spitting image of each other.. The idiom describes close physical resemblance, so it fits the twins.
Similar idioms
Word game fan? See every word hiding in SPITTING.