That's What They Say

'Spitting image' has nothing to do with saliva


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If a child looks a lot like one of their parents, people will sometimes say they're the "spitting image" of the parent. But others will say the child is the "spit and image" of their parent. So which is right? That's exactly what a listener from Kansas named Ken wanted to know. "Growing up, I had always heard, or misheard, and repeated the phrase, 'spitting image' -- as in, he's the spitting image of his father," Ken writes. Recently, Ken was reading a review for a camera when he saw the phrase
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That's What They SayBy Anne Curzan, Rebecca Hector

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