A carbon copy, literally speaking, is a copy of a document made by using carbon paper. Carbon paper is paper coated with black carbon ink and wax. This is placed between two sheets of paper so that the black ink is transferred to the bottom piece of paper when the top piece is written or printed on. Originally, black soot (hence, carbon) was used for the black pigment. This method of making document copies is all but extinct, today, but was once ubiquitous. The term still survives in idiomatic form as well as in the abbreviation, c.c. used on letters and other correspondence, which is used to indicate that the same document is being sent to someone else.
Idiomatically, a carbon copy is a person or thing that closely resembles another; an exact replica or duplicate; someone or something identical or very similar to another person or thing.
A carbon copy, idiomatically, is the same as a dead ringer, but the expression is not as strong.
Origin of “Carbon Copy”
Carbon paper, described above, was patented as part of the Manifold Stylographic Writer System, invented by Ralph Wedgwood in 1806. Designed to make simultaneous copies of handwritten documents, the system was later marketed simply as a ‘copy book’ or ‘Stylograph.’ Copies made using this system came to be known as carbon copies, a term that passed into general figurative use by around 1870.
Sentence Examples
“Jack is a carbon copy of his grandfather when he was young.”
“The police have determined that the scenes of the recent murders are a carbon copy of the ones that occurred several years back in the same county.”
“They say I’m a carbon copy of my mother, but I don’t see it.”
Similar and Related Idioms
- Spitting Image (of Someone): Refers to an exact physical likeness, striking resemblance, or precise duplicate of someone else.
- Chip Off the Old Block: A child who closely resembles or inherits character traits, habits, or appearance from their parent.
- Dead Ringer: Someone or something that looks identical to another person or object.
- Lookalike (or Doppelgänger): A person who bears a strong physical resemblance to another, non-related person.