Spit, spat, spitten

[Donald M. Lance]

Wouldn't "spitten image" be like "graven image" or "sawn timbers" or the rest of this
handful of old terms?
DMLance

"Douglas G. Wilson" wrote:

> >>"Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage" (1989):
> >>
> >>"The common verb _spit_ has as its past tense and past participle either
> >>_spat_ or _spit_.
> >
> >But this suggests Beverly is the last hold-out in her use of 'spat'
> >as the past/preterite, which is surely false.  I hear both 'spat' and
> >'spit' and if anything would vote for the former as more frequent.
> >I'd also have guessed that 'spat' is if anything MORE likely to occur
> >as the simple past than as the participle, contra the MWDEU.
>
> I think the book is saying both "spit, spat, spat" and "spit, spit, spit"
> are usual.
>
> As far as I can tell, it's silent on the possibilities "spit, spat, spit"
> and "spit, spit, spat": these must be quite rare, I think, especially the
> latter one.
>
> -- Doug Wilson