Spitting Image

Spitting Image

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spitting image
noun
Father then and son later are spitting images of each other. Norris McDonald
Naimah was brown-skinned, slender, and neighbors said she was the spitting image of her mother. Debbie Chocolate … a lovely … Oscar de la Renta dress, which was the spitting image of a similar one the late royal had worn previously. Megan C. Hill

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with the help of either movie magic or makeup, the actress appeared to be the spitting image of the queen

Recent Examples on the Web

Apple Martin is the spitting image of her mother, Gwyneth Paltrow.

Alice Cary, Vogue , 12 Aug. 2022

Richie and husband Joel Madden rarely share photos of their kids, but Harlow's aunt Sofia recently posted a shot that proves Harlow is the spitting image of mom Nicole.

Andrea Wurzburger, Peoplemag , 11 Aug. 2022

Pierre SuuGetty Images 16-year-old Violet is the spitting image of her mother, Jennifer Garner.

Emily Burack, Town & Country , 25 July 2022

Her friends and fans pointed out in the comments section that, not only is Christina the spitting image of her grandmother, but so is her 11-year-old daughter Taylor.

Glenn Garner, PEOPLE.com , 17 June 2022

On the banks of the Tagus River in Lisbon, California travelers may be surprised to encounter what appears to be the spitting image of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Los Angeles Times , 26 May 2022

The pavilion, cart pod and parking lot are the spitting image of Happy Valley Station, owner Valerie Hunter’s first foray into pod development.

oregonlive , 17 May 2022

Mariah was spot-on, Trixie Mattel could pull off Dolly Parton in her sleep, and Bebe Zahara Benet looked like the spitting image of Diana Ross herself.

Stephen Daw, Billboard , 29 Mar. 2022

But Quadratum is the spitting image of a real-world city, where Disney’s colorful cast of characters would look wildly out of place.

Washington Post , 13 Apr. 2022

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These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spitting image.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback .

Where Does 'Spitting Image' Come From?
‘Spitten image’? ‘Spirit and image’? ‘Spit and image’? Oh dear.

“Spitting image.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spitting%20image. Accessed 23 Sep. 2022.
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‘Spitten image’? ‘Spirit and image’? ‘Spit and image’? Oh dear.
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Spitting image ("someone who looks very much like someone else") has many origin stories. Before you read any further, however, you should consider yourself forewarned that this article will not attempt to claim to have proved with certainty the trustworthiness of any of them. If you would seek certainty in life, go read the scores for yesterday’s sports games. If you would embrace the messy and chaotic uncertainty of language, then read on.
'Spit' was historically used to mean "perfect likeness," possibly because it was said that a child looked enough like a parent to have been spit out of the parent's mouth. There are, however, other theories.
Before we had spitting image there was another version of this unsavory-sounding expression, which was spitten image . Spitten is believed to be a corruption of the words “spit and,” as spit formerly had the meaning of “perfect likeness.” There is evidence of spit being used in this fashion from the early 19th century:
Meanwhile the defeated lawyer with his fair one had secretly fled to private furnished lodgings, at the house of Mr. Thomas Prior … where she was brought to bed of a daughter, his acknowledged child, but according to the report of the nurse, “the very spit of the old Captain.” — The New Newgate Calendar , 1810
I saw a dead snake tother day—its (sic) a monstrous ugly beast, Pat--Did you ever see that one among the curiosities at Derry? Ogh! It is the very spit of it--only a great deal bigger every way…. — The Philadephia Gazette , 26 Jun., 1816
By the middle of the 19th century we begin to see evidence of the words spit and image used in conjunction.
The nurse and her sister then retire up the stage, and confer a while in dumb show; after which they approach the crib of the infant Pidgeon, the nurse turns down the cover, and at a sight of the infant, the sister clasps her hands together and energetically exclaims, “Oh, it’s the very spit and image of my own baby! as like my little baby as two peas!” —Horatio Newton Moore, Fitzgerald and Hopkins: Or, Scenes and Adventures in Theatrical Life , 1847
Spitten image followed spit and image , and finally spitting image began to see use at the end of the 19th century. The initial reason given for why we should have used spit in this manner is that it was said of a child that he or she looked enough like a parent to have been spit out of their mouth. Spit has been so used since at least the late 16th century.
…as like the papists, as if they had beene spit out of their mouthes. —William Charke, An Answeare for the Time…. , 1583
So it would appear that the metaphor of spitting something out of one’s mouth gradually shifted to become the very spit of (something) , which then turned into spit and image , which in turn became spitten image and settled on spitting image . Is the matter settled? No, of course not.
The above theory is the most likely one, but tracing a dialectical expression that has changed its form multiple times over hundreds of years leaves room for all sorts of alternate theories. Some of these are that spitting image comes from the words spirit and image (which itself may come from 19th century African-American usage, Benjamin Franklin, or any one of a number of other sources); that it was borrowed from a similar French expression; or that the spit in question may be a Biblical reference to another bodily fluid.
What of splitting image ? Is there any chance that this version, in which a thing is split in two, thus providing an exact likeness, is the origin of the expression? It seems quite unlikely. This common variant (some might unkindly refer to it as a mistake), does not crop up until well into the 20th century.
All Louise’s friends tell her she is the living splitting image of one of the Gish sisters—which one, they don’t quite remember. — The Evening Star (Washington, DC), 10 May, 1925
The younger Colman, who is said to be a splitting image of Ronnie, is a radio commentator. —Dan Thomas, The Santa Ana Register (Santa Ana, CA), 28 Jun., 1935
It is easy to dismiss splitting image as a mistake, and dictionaries do not enter it as a headword (although this may have as much to do with its relative paucity of use as with its lack of correctness). Yet when one considers the myriad forms that this expression has taken over the centuries, and the fact that each new version could rightfully be considered a mistake, it is difficult to say that splitting image will not one day have its moment in the sun, and be considered every bit as proper as spitten image , spit and image , or any of the others.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2020 Satirical television puppet show
This article is about the 2020 television series. For the original 1984–1996 series, see Spitting Image .
Promotional poster for the first series featuring from L-R Meghan Markle , Prince Harry , Donald Trump , Kanye West and Vladimir Putin

Laura Bacon (series 2)
Warrick Brownlow-Pike
Dave Chapman
Sheila Clark
Philip Eason (series 1)
Iestyn Evans
Joe Greco
Andy Heath
Brian Herring
Matt Hutchinson
Mark Jefferis
Steven Kynman (series 1)
Rebecca Nagan
Wim Oppenheimer
Lynn Robertson Bruce (series 1)
Neil Sterenberg
Olly Taylor (series 1)
Chris Thatcher

Steve Bendelack (series 2)
Steve Connelly (series 1)
Andy De Emmony (series 1)
Adam Miller (series 2)
David Sant (series 2)

Gemma Arrowsmith (series 1)
David X. Cohen (series 1)
Sophie Duker (series 1)
Matt Forde
Rich Fulcher (series 2)
Jason Hazely
Sarah Isaacson (series 2)
Noah James (series 1)
Travis Jay (series 1)
George Jeffrie (deceased before premiere of show, writings released posthumously) [63]
Laura Major
F. Maxwell (series 1)
Jordan Maxwell (series 1)
Karl Minns
Al Murray
Tom Neenan (series 1)
Pierre Novellie (series 1)
Bill Odenkirk
Brona C. Titley
Nico Tatarowicz
Bert Tyler-Moore
Patric M. Verrone
Phil Wang (series 1)
Jeff Westbrook
Keisha Zollar

Jean-Marc Borot
Steve Brodner (series 1)
André Carrilho
Russ Cook
Thierry Coquelet
Frank Hoppman
Sebastian Krüger
Johannes Leak
David Stoten
Adrian Teal
Tim Watts
Wilfrid Woods
Mark Reeve

^ Debuted on Britbox, also broadcast on ITV the same day at 10pm.

^ Premiered on BritBox and ITV at the same time at 9:30pm [69]

^ Premiered on December 24th on ITV [70]

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Spitting Image is a British satirical television puppet show , based on the 1984 series of the same name created by Peter Fluck , Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn . Similar to the original, the series features puppet caricatures of contemporary celebrities, such as Adele , James Corden , and Kanye West , as well as public figures, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson , several Conservative cabinet members such as Michael Gove , Dominic Raab and Priti Patel , and former US President Donald Trump .

ITV had plans for a reboot in 2006, but these were scrapped after a dispute over the Ant & Dec puppets used to host Best Ever Spitting Image , which were created against Law's wishes. [2] In September 2019, Law announced the show would be returning with a new series. [3] It was confirmed in March 2020 that the show would return on BritBox . [4] Featuring 100 new puppets, the series debuted on 3 October that year. [5] It was renewed for a second series four days later. [6] The second series premiered on 11 September 2021. [7]

Many British politicians are parodied in the show. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was most prominent, portrayed as a bumbling idiot often manipulated by Chief Advisor Dominic Cummings .

Alongside Johnson was his Cabinet, which included:

The Opposition ( Labour Party ) puppets include:

Other members who are parodied include: the badly-educated Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex , [23] his wife and former actress Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Andrew, Duke of York , who is hit with a wooden plank every time he is on screen. [24]

US President Donald Trump was portrayed as a childish, gluttonous moron at odds with his constantly tired and exasperated vice president, Mike Pence . He was characterised as being unable to read, he tweeted from his bed with his sentient anus , and the colour of his complexion was credited to a coating of ketchup that covered his face. [25] Trump was also depicted as being bald and his wig being a small animal that could crawl off his head and obey his commands. [26] His wife, Melania Trump was shown as despising the role of First Lady and showed utter contempt and coldness towards her husband. [27] [28]

Joe Biden is portrayed as old, forgetful and unaware that he is president. [29] He invokes the 25th Amendment to make Kamala Harris acting president whenever he goes to the toilet, as "at my age that could take a while". [30]

Nicola Sturgeon is depicted as an independence -obsessed Scottish nationalist . She appeared at the UEFA Champions League in Braveheart -style facepaint and assaulted the Boris Johnson puppet with a headbutt whilst shouting, " Glasgow kiss !" [31] Her predecessor, Alex Salmond , is depicted as a Shrek lookalike. [32]

Vladimir Putin is portrayed as a tiny megalomaniac sitting on a throne. He poisons people for entertainment and shows a clear disregard for human life. In one sketch, he tried to make the COVID-19 puppet Prime Minister of Russia , stating that "every five years, we switch jobs. But I am always in charge." In Spitting Image , Russia is shown as a severely underdeveloped nation which is only beginning to grasp technology from the 1930s, including tape recorders and walkie-talkies being described by Putin as "all the best Russia has to offer". [33]

Jacinda Ardern is overprotective of her country and implements a nationwide lockdown every time there is a single COVID-19 case reported in New Zealand.

Nancy Pelosi panders to whatever minority group she meets in a desperate bid to get votes as a result of being afflicted with "panderitis". [34]

Jared Kushner is a lifeless mannequin paraded around by Ivanka Trump and sarcastically described by Donald Trump as "that dynamo of energy and excitement, Jared Kushner!" [35]

England manager Gareth Southgate is overly woke , Harry Kane speaks with a prominent lisp , Phil Foden is a womaniser and Marcus Rashford is ignored and shunned by the rest of his team. [37] Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp is exceedingly cheerful, optimistic and friendly, sometimes even to his disadvantage. [38] [39]

Golfer Tiger Woods is also portrayed as very calm, even under circumstances that would greatly irritate others. [40]

Other sportspeople satirized on Spitting Image include fitness coach Joe Wicks , former professional footballer Micah Richards and professional tennis player Emma Raducanu .

Many actors are also lampooned. Tom Cruise is a scientologist unable to tell the difference between his films and real life; [41] [42] Gwyneth Paltrow sells increasingly odd products; [36] Brad Pitt is overly emotional; [43] Idris Elba employs unusual interrogatio
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