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. Theocri- tus called it a chip-of-the-old-flint (Idyls, c. 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.”