"...must have taken ‘after’ his daddy."

I read this phrase:

My son cracks me up. He's had me laughing all day long. Must have taken after his daddy.

I want to know what after means in this construction, and if there is some formal construction equivalent to this one.

Solution 1:

To "take after" your father or mother means you inherited a trait from them, either genetically or by the way they raised you.

As an extension, you can "take after" anyone who might have an influence on you. A student might take after his instructor. You can take after your great-grandfather. Et cetera.

Solution 2:

To take after means "have a similar appearance to or qualities in common with a parent or an ancestor."

Solution 3:

"After" in this usage is incomplete and meaningless by itself. The verb phrase is "to take after" and it means "to resemble" in myriad ways: sense of humor, taxicab ears (like the ones I have), ability to scheme successfully, musicality, and as many others as there are human traits real or imagined.