又中又英——A chip off the old block

　　Some weeks ago in Atlanta, Georgia, I saw an Asian woman who was the spitting image of an Asian woman I know in Hong Kong. I wanted to tell her she was the spitting image of someone I know but thought better of it. If you are the "spitting image" of someone, it means you look exactly like that person or look extremely similar to that person. A son can be a spitting image of his father. A daughter can be a spitting image of her mother. It is rare for someone to be a spitting image of another person unless they are related.
　　It would have been rude to ask the woman in Atlanta if she had a relative in Hong Kong who looked like her. That's why I thought better of it. The expression "think better of it" means to decide not to do something after realizing it is not a good idea. It is unclear how the expression "spitting image" originated. Some believe it is linked to the word "spit". They believe if you are the spitting image of someone then it is like you were formed by the spit of that person. A person, of course, cannot be formed by the spit of another person. It is just an expression to describe two people who look very much alike.
　　The expression "a chip off the old block" is similar to "spitting image" but it is used only to describe someone who looks like or has similar characteristics to his or her parents. If you look like your father or mother, people can say you are a chip off the old block. The expression is mostly used to describe a son who looks like or has similar characteristics to his father. The expression comes from a block of wood. The old block is the father. The chip, a small piece of wood, is the son. If you take a chip from the block, it will look like the block.
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　　几个星期前在佐治亚州的亚特兰大，我见到一个亚裔女人，简直跟一位我在香港认识的亚裔女士长得一模一样（spitting image）。我本想跟她说她跟我认识的某人长得一模一样（spitting image），但想想还是不要搭讪为好（thought better of it）。若你是 the "spitting image" of someone，意思即你跟某人长得一模一样，又或跟那人相貌非常酷似。一个儿子可以跟他的父亲长得像饼印一样（spitting image），一个女儿亦可以跟母亲长得像饼印一样（spitting image）。除非某人跟另一个人有血缘关系，否则两人要长得一模一样（spitting image），是很罕见的。
　　要是我去询问那位在亚特兰大的女士，是否有一名跟她长得非常酷似的亲戚在香港，那就不免显得冒昧无礼了，因此我thought better of it。习语 "think better of it" 意即因为意识到某事并非好主意，而改变主意、决定不去做。至于习语 "spitting image"，来源则不大清楚，有些人相信它跟 "spit" 一字相关，认为若你是某人「吐口水的形象」（spitting image），那你就像是用那人的口水（spit）造出来的人。当然，一个人不可能是另一个人吐口水（spit）所造出来的，这只是一个习语，用来形容两个人长得非常酷似。
　　习语 "a chip off the old block" 跟 "spitting image" 大同小异，但单单用来形容某人跟其父母长得很像，又或有很相近的特质。若你长得像你爸爸或妈妈，人们便可以说你是a chip off the old block。这个习语通常是用来形容子肖其父，儿子跟他的父亲非常相像，又或拥有相近的特征。这个习语来自一块木头，那个老木头就是比喻父亲，而那片木块的碎屑就是比喻儿子；若你从一块木头上切下一块木屑，那它看起来就很像那块木头。中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁