A chip of the old block.
Meaning: Children naturally inherit their parents' character traits and behaviors, reproducing them like identical fragments.
Origin: The older form was "a chip of the same block," meaning made of the same wood, used by the preacher Robert Sanderson in a 1621 sermon. Edmund Burke gave the modern version its most famous use in 1781, when the young William Pitt made his first speech in Parliament: he was, Burke said, not merely a chip of the old block, but the old block itself.
More proverbs about Wisdom
- The nearer the church the farther from God. — Proximity to religious institutions cannot substitute for genuine spiritual devotion or m…
- Pater-noster built churches, and Our Father pulls them down. — Reciting prayers alone, without genuine faith or action, cannot sustain what was built th…
- Climb not too high, lest the fall be the greater. — Ambition without caution invites proportional disaster; modest goals protect against cata…
- Though the sun shines, leave not your cloak at home. — Unexpectedly harsh conditions can arrive suddenly, so maintain preparedness despite prese…
- The clock goes as it pleases the clerk. — A servant's negligence or self-interest determines whether essential tasks proceed reliab…
- Clouds that the sun builds up darken him. — What we create to serve our purposes can ultimately obscure our vision and hinder our goa…
From our idioms
- Pabuç pahalı — Things are getting dangerous; time to be careful.
- İki ayağını bir pabuca sokmak — To rush and pressure someone relentlessly.
- تمخض الجبل فولد فأرا (tamakhaḍa al-jabalu fa-walada fa'ran) — A huge fuss producing a tiny result.