- 1nB2/ˈspɪtɪŋ ˈɪmɪdʒ/跟某人長得一模一樣
口語If one person is the spitting image of another, they look exactly like them — so alike that people notice straight away. It is used most often about people in the same family.
示範例句 · Example
Leo is the spitting image of his father in that old photo.
逐字在那張舊照片裡，里歐是他爸爸的吐口水影像。
This is about faces, not about character: you can be the spitting image of an uncle you have never met. It is a fixed shape, so the words do not move — be the spitting image of somebody, always with the and always with of. It is friendly, spoken English, the sort of thing said over a photo album, and the source marks it colloquial and idiomatic. It is stronger than looks like: looks like allows some difference, while the spitting image allows none.
這個說法在講外表。兩個人的臉像到別人一眼就看出來。最常用在同一家人身上。它跟個性無關。你可以跟一個沒見過的叔叔長得一模一樣。它是固定說法，字不能換。前面用 the，後面用 of。完整形狀是 be the spitting image of somebody。語氣是親切的口語。看老照片時最常說。來源標示它屬於口語慣用語。它比 looks like 更強。looks like 允許有差異，這個說法不允許。
常見搭配
be the spitting image of somebody
跟某人長得一模一樣
to look exactly like that person
She's the spitting image of her mother at that age.
the spitting image of his / her father
跟爸爸／媽媽長得一個樣
looking exactly like a parent
Everyone says he's the spitting image of his father.
absolutely the spitting image
根本一模一樣
used to stress how alike they are
Absolutely the spitting image — I had to look twice.
意思相近
doublelookalikedead ringercarbon copy
意思相反
oppositecomplete contrast
core核心畫面
Picture two faces held side by side — an old photo next to the person holding it — and the same round cheeks, the same gap in the front teeth, looking back at you twice. Not similar. The same. That is the whole of this expression, and it is why people say it the moment they see the photo.
From the word’s history
Wiktionary records this as an alteration of the earlier spitten image, which developed from spit and image, where spit in this context meant likeness. The popular story about a father spitting out a child whole is named there as folk etymology, and the suggested link to spirit is described as lacking evidence.
依據 Wiktionary，這個說法是從較早的 spitten image 變來的，而 spitten image 又來自 spit and image；在這個組合裡，spit 的意思是「相像」，不是吐口水。至於「父親把孩子整個吐出來」那個說法，來源明白標示為民間附會；另一種把 spit 連到 spirit 的推測，來源指出缺乏證據。所以這個字面畫面其實是後來被想像出來的。
Wiktionary entry for spitting image, supplied in this packet (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1215213946:10499)
容易混在一起的字在訂閱裡。容易混在一起的字需要訂閱帳號。
複數 spitting images