Meaning
A person who closely resembles a parent in character, temperament, or ability, and sometimes in appearance. Usually said of a son or daughter who has inherited a parent's talents or mannerisms, often with amusement or approval. Warm and informal; usually affectionate or admiring of family resemblance. Regional use: General English.
Origin
The analogy - a small chip cut from a block of wood or stone resembles the block it came from - is old; Dictionary.com cites Theocritus's Idyls (c. 270 BC) as an early precedent. In English the earliest form is 'chip of the same block', recorded in Bishop Robert Sanderson's Sermons (1621): 'Am not I a child of the same Adam... a chip of the same block, with him?' Soon afterwards John Milton wrote 'How well dost thou now appeare to be a Chip of the old block.' The change from 'of' to 'off' settled in during the 19th century, with the 'old block' now firmly meaning the parent; The Phrase Finder's earliest example of the modern wording is from the Athens Messenger, Ohio (June 1870): 'The child is too often a chip off the old block.'
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- a real chip off the old block
- chip of the old block (earlier form)
- chip of the same block (historical)
Usage Examples
- Their daughter negotiates playground disputes exactly like her father - a real chip off the old block.
- He is a chip off the old block, sharing his mother's gift for tuning engines.
- A chip off the old block, the young winger drifts past defenders just as his father did.