spitting image
noun Informal.
Origin of spitting image
1925–30; from the phrase
spit and image (see
spit1) by confusion of
spit and with
spittin'; compare earlier
the very spit of the exact likeness of
Words nearby spitting image
spitsticker,
spitteler,
spitter,
spitting cobra,
spitting distance,
spitting image,
spitting snake,
spittle,
spittle insect,
spittlebug,
spittoon
British Dictionary definitions for spitting image
spitting image
noun
informal
a person who bears a strong physical resemblance to another, esp to a relative
Also called: spit, spit and image
Word Origin for spitting image
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 with spitting image
spitting image
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.