phrase🎓 English idiom

a chip off the old block

very like one's parent

What it means

A person who closely resembles one of their parents in character, looks, or behaviour. It is usually a warm, approving way of noting strong family similarity.

Examples

  • Like his dad, Joe loves fishing; he's a chip off the old block.
  • She's a chip off the old block, just as stubborn as her mother.
  • Watching him fix the car, I thought, what a chip off the old block.
  • Their daughter is a chip off the old block, sharing her father's wit.

Where it comes from

The phrase compares a child to a small chip cut from the same block of wood or stone as the parent; earlier versions like 'chip of the same block' appear from the 1600s.

Related idioms

#like two peas in a pod#the apple of my eye#a chip on your shoulder#the early bird catches the worm

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