What word or expression can I use for a baby who is the exact copy of one of its parents?
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3"He is a dead ringer for his dad".– CowperKettleFeb 24, 2016 at 15:37
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1Or, if we are speaking about a person's behaviour or character, "He is a chip off the old block"– CowperKettleFeb 24, 2016 at 15:38
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2An exact copy? That would be a clone. ;^)– J.R. ♦Feb 24, 2016 at 16:40
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@J.R. - even a clone would not be an exact copy. (0:– CowperKettleFeb 24, 2016 at 17:00
4 Answers
One such phrase is the spitting image.
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2Colloquially (in BrE, at least), you can also say He's the [dead] spit of his father. It says here In the early nineteenth century it was possible to describe a child as 'the spit' of his father, or for emphasis the 'spit and image'. This could also appear as 'spitten image', which then became 'spitting image'. But I don't accept that plain old spit is no longer used. Feb 24, 2016 at 16:08
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2@FumbleFingers Interesting. In America, "the spitting image" is far more common. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say "the dead spit" before!– AbsFeb 24, 2016 at 16:55
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1As above; "the spit of", "dead spit" or "spitting image". "Double" is also popular i.e. "he's his double".– Mike CFeb 24, 2016 at 17:01
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+1 Another American English speaker for the spitting image. I've never heard of 'he's his double' to refer to parent child-resemblance. Feb 24, 2016 at 17:13
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1I believe it comes from "spi'it 'n image" (an abbreviated form of "spirit and image").– jkdevFeb 24, 2016 at 22:12
Like others have said, the spitting image and dead ringer are good ones to describe family members who look exactly alike. Carbon copy is my personal favorite. "He is a carbon copy of his dad!"
You could perhaps use duplicate, look-alike, twin or doppelganger depending on what you're going for. Some words would work better for strangers rather than relatives though (ex. "you two could be twins!" or "she's his doppelganger, I swear" or "she's an exact duplicate of him").
Here are some synonyms for spitting image that you might find useful.
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I agree the doppelganger works better for strangers than relatives, but I'm still upvoting this answer on account of that suggestion. That's a great word for leaners.– J.R. ♦Feb 24, 2016 at 19:40
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1What's great about carbon copy is that he is indeed a carbon based life form!– corsiKaFeb 24, 2016 at 23:53
Maybe this is quite recent, but many people will recognize Mini-Me as an exact (although smaller) copy of someone.
While not strictly about appearance, some common phrases having to do with parental similarities are
- A chip off the old block
- The apple doesn't fall far from the tree