a chip off the old block

a chip off the old block

Someone whose character or personality resembles that of their parent. Mike's automotive repair skills really rival those of his father. He's a real chip off the old block!
See also: block, chip, off, old
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

chip off the old block

Fig. a person (usually a male) who behaves in the same way as his father or resembles his father. John looks like his father—a real chip off the old block. Bill Jones, Jr., is a chip off the old block. He's a banker just like his father.
See also: block, chip, off, old
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

chip off the old block

A person who closely resembles a parent, as in Like her mother, Karen has very little patience-a chip off the old block. This term, with its analogy to a chip of stone or wood that closely resembles the larger block it was cut from, dates from ancient times (Theocritus, Idyls, c. 270 b.c.). In English it was already a proverb by the 17th century, then often put as chip of the old block.
See also: block, chip, off, old
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

a chip off the old block

someone who resembles their parent, especially in character. informal
A chip in this expression means something which forms a portion of, or is derived from, a larger or more important thing, and which retains the characteristic qualities of that superior thing. In 1781 Edmund Burke commented on Pitt the Younger's maiden speech in Parliament by saying he was: ‘Not merely a chip of the old “block”, but the old block itself’.
See also: block, chip, off, old
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

a ˌchip off the old ˈblock

(informal) a person who is very like one of his/her parents in appearance or character: Young Tom’s a chip off the old block, isn’t he? He looks exactly like his Dad!
See also: block, chip, off, old
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

chip off the old block

A child whose appearance or character closely resembles that of one or the other parent.
See also: block, chip, off, old
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.

chip off the old block, a

An individual who closely resembles a parent in abilities, behavior, or appearance, most often a son resembling his father. The analogy is to wood—that is, a chip consists of the same wood as the block from which it came—and dates back to ancient Greek times. Theocritus called it a chip-of-the-old-flint (Idyls, ca. 270 b.c.). The wood analogy appeared in several writings of the seventeenth century, although usually as a chip of the old block (Robert Sanderson, William Rowley, John Milton, and others), and John Ray’s 1670 proverb collection had it, “Kit after kind. A chip of the old block.”
See also: chip, off, old
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • chip off the old block
  • chip off the old block, a
  • be a chip off the old block
  • reveal (one's) (true) colors
  • revealing
  • a Jekyll and Hyde
  • Hyde
  • Jekyll
  • Jekyll and Hyde
  • on loan
References in periodicals archive
Infrared spectra taken by the Deep Space 1 spacecraft in late July suggest that Braille, only 2 kilometers long, is a chip off the old block 4 Vesta, the third largest asteroid in the solar system.
Deep encounter reveals asteroid's ancestry
She's his daughter, a chip off the old block if ever there was one.
All in the family
SAM STUBBS was persuaded to join Crewe by Nick Powell - and hopes to prove a chip off the old block.
GRIMSBY v CREWE
IT seems James Jagger is a chip off the old block. He may look more like his model mum Jerry Hall, but the 19-year-old carried the Jagger flame when he snogged a mystery girl.
The Razz: James Jagger
DIEGO MARADONA JNR is proving to be a chip off the old block after leaving DUNFERMLINE to return to Italy.
Football: Diego walk-out
Jamie Fraser, 30, proved he was a chip off the old block when he and a pal held up bookies, off-licences and jewellers across South London with a hunting knife and gun.
Mad Frank robber lad locked up
REG AKEHURST'S runners were always feared in major handicaps and his son Jon can show he is a chip off the old block by lifting the Stanley Racing Great Metropolitan Stakes with Red Ramona at Epsom tomorrow.
Akehurst fans on red alert; RACING
An his fafsi And when the Somerset opener raised his bat again at the Basin Reserve, his father celebrated with a bag of chips from the catering stall under the scoreboard - a chip off the old block in every sense.
KNOCK OF AGES; NZ v ENGLAND FINAL TEST, AUCKLAND, TOMORROW OW Compo on for hat-trick of centuries.. just like grandad back in 1947!
LITTLE Phoenix Chi looked like a chip off the old block with her Scary Spice hair and fashion sense.
Chi's Scarily like her mum
Here's Kelly Osbourne looking like a chip off the old block at a gig at The Roxy in West Hollywood, LA.
Lookalike Osbourne offspring
The rapper, whose platinum edition I am Chipmunk album is out Monday, said: "Mummy Lott's so cool." A chip off the old block...
Chipmunk nuts for Pix
PIGEON FANCIER Simon A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK Ready for dinner STEPS OUT Mooching in Chinatown PARKLIFE Pigeons gather for bite to eat COOL PIGEON A bunch of birds strut their stuff around a South London park
A very British Coo; PIGEONS CLOSE-UP
HOT Chip's frontman is having a chip off the old block.
Petite frite for Chip's Al
AS the son of a mum who once said, "I'm as thick as a plank", Prince Harry is definitely a chip off the old block.
I DIG HARRY THE GRAFTER
WE all know Ray Winstone is something of a tough guy, so it shouldn't be surprising to learn that actress daughter Jaime (below) is a chip off the old block.
TV LAND: Ray Winstone