Word: saliva
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...records on "spittin' image" should certainly be kept straight. I don't think that the expression has anything to do with saliva. It originated, I believe, among the darkies of the South and the correct phrasing--without dialect--is "spirit and image." It was originally used in speaking of some person whose father had passed on--and the colored folks would say--"the very spi't an' image of his daddy." JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS JR. Atlanta...
...other day in the dining hall I saw an animal--an overgrown, grotesque beast covered with tangled dark hair, sharp teeth dripping with saliva and long brittle nails evocative of Freddie Kreuger. As I watched him prowl around the dining hall, a hollow hungry look on his face (he must have forgotten his ID card), I wondered why no one else noticed him. Deciding to ignore his foreboding presence, I swiped my card, filled my plate full of chicken fingers and sat down, determined to read my newspaper in peace...
...blood thinner derived from leech saliva, called desirudin, reduces the risk of dangerous clots after hip-replacement surgery...
YOUR SPITTING IMAGE Researchers have figured out how to analyze DNA in saliva to identify susceptibility to gum disease. As a result, doctors may one day use saliva instead of blood to detect a host of gene-based diseases...
LICK YOUR WOUNDS! Here's why: saliva contains nitrite, which on skin seems to convert to nitric oxide--a potent antimicrobial agent...