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The meaning and origin of the expression: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

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What's the meaning of the phrase 'Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery'?

Literal meaning.

What's the origin of the phrase 'Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery'?

This proverbial expression dates from the early 19th century, although versions of it that paraphrased the same thought existed well before then.

The first of these alternate versions is found in a biography of Marcus Aurelius by Jeremy Collier and André Dacier, titled Emperor Marcus Antoninus his conversation with himself, 1708:

You should consider that Imitation is the most acceptable part of Worship, and that the Gods had much rather Mankind should Resemble, than Flatter them.

A nearer stab at the current version comes in a piece by the English writer Eustace Budgell in the newspaper The Spectator No. 605, October 1714:

Imitation is a kind of artless Flattery.

The full monty as far as this proverb is concerned was given by Charles Caleb Colton, in Lacon: or, Many things in few words, 1820:

Imitation is the sincerest of flattery.

Colton was expressing the same idea as Budgell, in that, to imitate is to flatter without necessarily being aware one is flattering. As such, that 'artless' appreciation has to be 'sincere'.

See also: the List of Proverbs.

Gary Martin - the author of the phrases.org.uk website.

By Gary Martin

Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

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