chip off the old block
7
4.4
- idiom
- Informal
:
copia del padre
- When I saw him excel at sports, I knew he was a chip off the old block from his athletic parents.
- call him a chip off the old block
But Greg Junior was a chip off the old block.
- But Greg Junior was a chip off the old block.
Examples
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Word is that kid of yours is a chip off the old block.
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He is such a talented musician; he's a true chip off the old block just like his father.
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Well, you seem like a real chip off the old block.
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You really are a chip off the old block.
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Are you a chip off the old block now?
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My brother is a chip off the old block; he and Dad both knew how to use a knife.
Fiction book (1998) -
She's a real chip off the old block.
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You're a chip off the old block, like it or not.
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Tim, you're a chip off the old block.
Blog text (2) -
You're a real chip off the old block, aren't you?
Synonyms
31
3.8
A person who looks or acts very like another person
9
3.5
A person or thing that looks very similar to another, often a famous person
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
chip + off + the + old + block
The phrase uses a concrete metaphor (a 'chip' removed from an 'old block') that suggests a part resembling its source, so learners can partly infer the sense of resemblance. However, mapping that image specifically to parent–child likeness is conventional and culturally specific, so the exact meaning is not fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
The saying chip off the old block comes from the image of a small chip broken off a large old block of wood or stone, where the little piece still looks like the big piece. So, calling someone a chip off the old block means they 'look like' or 'act like' their parent.