dead ringer

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dead ringer

A person or thing that bears a strong resemblance to someone or something else. Susie was such a dead ringer for Kate Winslet that sometimes people would ask her for her autograph.
See also: dead, ringer

dead ringer

A person or thing that closely resembles another; an exact counterpart. For example, Brian's a dead ringer for his Dad, or That red bike is a dead ringer for Mary's. [Late 1800s]
See also: dead, ringer

a dead ringer for someone

INFORMAL
COMMON If you say that one person is a dead ringer for another, you mean that the first person looks or sounds exactly like the second. He's tall, dark and a dead-ringer for Robert Pattinson. Kovic is extraordinary in one respect: he's a dead ringer for the former US President. Note: The word `ringer' may originally have come from a name for dishonest traders at fairs who sold brass rings, pretending they were gold. In American horse racing, a `ringer' is a horse that has been dishonestly substituted for another in a race.
See also: dead, ringer, someone

a dead ˈringer for somebody

(informal) a person who looks extremely like somebody else: She’s a dead ringer for her mother.A ringer was a person or thing that pretended to be another person or thing. In horse racing for example, a ringer was a horse that was substituted for another in order to cheat in a race.
See also: dead, ringer, somebody

dead ringer

verb
See dead ringer for someone
See also: dead, ringer
References in periodicals archive ?
Nikki's life is turned upside-down when she meets an art teacher who's a dead ringer for her late husband, again played by Harris.
THE FACE OF LOVE
I don't know," the pastor said, "but he's a dead ringer for his brother.
For whom the bell tolls
In his pork pie hat and scruffy beard, he was a dead ringer for vocalist Dave Peacock as he arrived at JFK Airport with son Maddox.
IT'S CHAS AND BRAD
This rich merlot comes packaged in a cute orange-n-red box, making it a dead ringer for the quart of Silk soymilk chilling a few aisles over.
French Rabbit Merlot
The actor is a dead ringer for the German noble Claus von Stauffenberg, who tried to kill Adolf Hitler.
Cruise is a real look-a-Reich
A dead ringer for the gallerist Martin Klosterfelde manned the facsimile space, speaking with a German accent and wearing a wig (which was for sale) made from Martin's real hair.
Paola Pivi
David Hyde Pierce's Sir Robin, whose long tresses make him a dead ringer for Charlotte Rampling, insists that "You Won't Succeed on Broadway (If You Haven't Any Jews)," which cues a wacky side trip to Fiddler on the Roof.
Call it "Spoofalot"
Check out the buckled pocket bag a dead ringer for Mulberry's Roxy bag but a snip at just, pounds 7.
Stuff: i want one
Maybe you get stopped on the street for autographs or have been told you are a dead ringer for one of the players set to show off their skills in Portugal.
Could you look like a Euro star?
FIRST she looked like Hilda Ogden, now pop siren CHRISTINA AGUILERA is a dead ringer for another Corrie legend - Liz McDonald on a bad hair day.
Hot People: She's Christina Aguil-hair-ugh!
MIDLAND school bursar Janet Taylor became so fed up of people telling her she was a dead ringer for Anne Robinson that she's become the Queen of Mean's professional lookalike.
Don't vote me out!; SAYS ANNE LOOKALIKE CONTESTANT
Each seasoned flatbread wrapper is packed with some combination of vegetables like carrots, onions, green peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, and peas plus a little something extra--Indian cheese in the Vegetable Paneer, tofu in the Kung Pao Tofu, Veat (soy protein that's a dead ringer for chicken) in the Vegetarian Peanut Satay, and chicken in the Chicken Tikka Masala.
IT'S A WRAP
DOING a fantastic and very sexy impression of Cheryl Cole, here's Michelle Keegan giving fans a proper Coronation treat The actress is a dead ringer for the singer in this light-hearted photoshoot.
Cole lot of fun, Michelle
Peugeot's 308RCZ is a dead ringer for Audi's TT but the French claim their effort is far more practical.
Peugeot double is Audidacious
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