Idioms

tweedledee and tweedledum

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tweedledee and tweedledum

Any two people very similar in appearance, manner, or behavior, especially those who are or act particularly oafish or foolish. A reference to the names of two fictional twins in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. It's a wonder we have any nice things at all with tweedledee and tweedledum over there running around the house knocking into everything. Most of the world sees our two countries as tweedledee and tweedledum, but we generally hate being lumped in with our boorish neighbors to the south.
See also: and, tweedledee, tweedledum
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

tweedledum and tweedledee

Two matters, persons, or groups that are very much alike, as in Bob says he's not voting in this election because the candidates are tweedledum and tweedledee . This term was invented by John Byrom, who in 1725 made fun of two quarreling composers, Handel and Bononcini, and said there was little difference between their music, since one went "tweedledum" and the other "tweedledee." The term gained further currency when Lewis Carroll used it for two fat little men in Through the Looking-Glass (1872). For a synonym, see six of one, half dozen of the other.
See also: and, tweedledee, tweedledum
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

tweedledum and tweedledee

Not much difference between these alternatives; same as six of one and half a dozen of the other. These actually were two names invented by John Byrom, who was satirizing two quarreling schools of musicians. Byrom (and others) claimed there was not much difference between Handel and Bononcini—one’s music went “tweedledum” and the other’s “tweedledee”—and wrote an amusing verse to this effect for the London Journal (June 1725). Lewis Carroll’s use of the names for two fat little men in his Through the Looking-Glass (1872) helped the term to survive.
See also: and, tweedledee, tweedledum
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
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References in periodicals archive
Alice Through the Looking Glass, PG, PS17.99 Alice (Mia Wasikowska) tumbles through a mirror into Underland and reunites with the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Matt Lucas) and the other eccentric residents.
dvd
ALICE (Mia Wasikowska pictured with Johnny Depp) falls through a mirror into Wonderland and reunites with the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Matt Lucas) and the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen).
coming soon; A TRAIN passenger (Emily Blunt, right) believes she has witnessed a crime in the thriller THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN
ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS (PG) ALICE (Mia Wasikowska pictured with Johnny Depp) falls through a mirror into Wonderland and reunites with the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Matt Lucas) and the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen).
DVD RELEASES three to see; Missed it at the cinema or on TV? We round up the best DVD releases of the week
ALICE (Mia Wasikowska, left, with Johnny Depp) falls through a mirror into Wonderland and reunites with the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Matt Lucas) and the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen).
DVD RELEASES three to see; Missed it at the cinema or on TV? We round up the best DVD releases of the week
After slipping through a mirror, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) finds herself back in Underland (that's Wonderland's real name) with the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
Reaching new Depps!
They include Tweedledee and Tweedledum (both played by Matt Lucas), the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry), Humpty Dumpty (Wally Wingert), the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and, of course, the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp).
Alice in blunderland
Defiant in the face of adversity, Alice takes a tumble through a mirror and plummets into Wonderland where she reunites with the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Matt Lucas), Absolem the Caterpillar (voiced by Alan Rickman), The Dormouse (Barbara Windsor) and the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen).
ALICE BLAND; Lewis Carroll's fantastic cast of characters is back for another CGI outing.... but the magic is missing
He said: "Every one of the Tweedledee and Tweedledum parties promises to create a system of border controls which means that when people leave the country they are logged out as having left.
'Lip service' on immigration
Fleeing the public proposal to clear her head, Alice chases a White Rabbit (voiced by Charlie Sheen) down a hole, and reunites with old friends the Mad Hatter (Depp), Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Matt Lucas), Absolem the Caterpillar (voiced by Alan Rick-man), The Dormouse (Barbara Windsor) and The Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry), who she cannot remember from her earlier visit to Wonderland.
Hmm, curious! FRESH movies: ALICE IN WONDERLAND (PG, 108 MINS) 6.5/10
She is reunited with The White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Dormouse, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat and, of course, Depp's Mad Hatter.
Alice in blunder land.. Fantasy epic a $250m mess: Films
From the first scene of the "Merry Unbirthday" party, which has Mickey swiping the Mad Hatter's hat and leading to a wild and wacky chase including Alice in Wonderland, the White Rabbit, and Tweedledee and Tweedledum, to the "Aloha Adventure" with Lilo and Stitch joining Mickey and the gang on their Hawaiian holiday, the numbers are loaded with eye-catching costumes, impressive choreography, and spectacular special effects.
Disney Ice kingdom still an enchanting adventure
Alice manages to brush this comment off as ridiculous, but she must still endure and even assist in an enactment of the Tweedledee and Tweedledum nursery rhyme--in which the brothers do battle over a damaged rattle--before she manages to escape them.
Introduction: "If you think we're alive, you ought to speak"
Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Come see the circus, folks, the Greatest Show on Earth, the only show in town.
The party should be over for the two-party system
"To conflate the two as Tweedledee and Tweedledum was politically idiotic," Gitlin says.
An Unreasonable Man
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