dead ringer
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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
See ringer (“substitute”) and ring the changes
Pronunciation
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Noun
dead ringer (plural dead ringers)
- (idiomatic) Someone or something that very closely resembles another; someone or something easily mistaken for another.
- Synonym: spitting image
- He is a dead ringer for his grandfather at that age.
- 2018 February 28, Justine Jordan, “Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday review – a dizzying debut”, in The Guardian[2]:
- Twentysomething Alice works in publishing, so is instantly in awe of this old man offering her chocolate with a trembling hand. He is world-famous writer Ezra Blazer, a dead ringer for Philip Roth, with whom Halliday had a relationship in her 20s.
Usage notes
Used with for to convey whom or what is being resembled.
Translations
someone or something that very closely resembles another; someone or something easily mistaken for another
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