spitting image

spitting image
spitting image
meaning ‘an exact double’, is an established phrase, although it is in origin a misunderstanding of spit and image (spit and picture also occurred), which was itself an extension of the early 19c phrase the (very) spit of. A transitional form spitten image is first recorded in 1910. The older forms are also occasionally found:

• Look at this, Father, appeared last Friday on Sister Philomena, the very spit and image of the nail marks in the palms of our Blessed Lord —Hilary Mantel, 1989.


Modern English usage. 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • spitting\ image — • spitting image • spit and image noun informal An exact likeness; a duplicate. John is the spitting image of his grandfather. That vase is the spitting image of one I wanted to buy in Boston. Compare: like father, like son …   Словарь американских идиом

  • spitting image — If a person is the spitting image of somebody, they look exactly alike.( Spit and image is also used and some suggest it is a hasty pronunciation of spirit & image , to suggest that someone completely resembles someone else. Example: He s the… …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • Spitting Image — était une émission de télévision satirique diffusée sur le réseau britannique ITV de 1984 à 1996 et brièvement en France sur M6. Spitting Image mettait en scène des marionnettes en latex caricaturant les personnalités les plus en vue du Royaume… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • spitting image — n be the spitting image of sb to look exactly like someone else …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • spitting image — [n] look alike carbon copy, clone, double, duplicate, exact likeness, likeness, match, replica, ringer*, twin, very image; concepts 414,664,670 …   New thesaurus

  • spitting image — [spit′ n im′ij] n. spit and image: see SPIT2 (n. 5) …   English World dictionary

  • Spitting Image — Infobox television show name = Spitting Image caption = Spitting Image album cover for Da Do Run Ron satirical parody of Ronald Reagan format = Puppet show voices= Chris Barrie Harry Enfield Jon Glover Louise Gold Steve Nallon Kate Robbins John… …   Wikipedia

  • Spitting Image — Seriendaten Originaltitel Spitting Image Produktionsland UK …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • spitting image — noun a perfect likeness or counterpart • Hypernyms: ↑likeness, ↑alikeness, ↑similitude * * * noun, pl ⋯ ages [count] : someone who looks very much like someone else usually singular She is the spitting image of her mother. * * * ˌspitting ˈimage… …   Useful english dictionary

  • spitting image —    If a person is the spitting image of somebody, they look exactly alike.   (Dorking School Dictionary)    ***    If one person is the spitting image of another, they look exactly like each other.     Sarah is the spitting image of her mother …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

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