dead ringer

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
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

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
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

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
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

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
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

dead ringer

verb
See dead ringer for someone
See also: dead, ringer
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

dead ringer

A person or object that exactly resembles another, an exact counterpart in appearance. The usage of “ringer” for look-alike has been around since the late 1800s, when it was used for a horse that was fraudulently substituted for another in a race. It also was applied to the person who made such a substitution, but this usage has died out. However, in 1891 the term was made more emphatic with the addition of “dead,” here used in the sense of “exact,” as it is in dead heat for an exact tie.
See also: dead, ringer
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • a dead ringer for somebody
  • a dead ringer for someone
  • dead ringer for (someone)
  • dead ringer for someone
  • be a dead ringer for
  • ringer
  • look like a (dead) ringer for (someone)
  • look like a ringer
  • first cousin
  • the spit and image of (one)
References in periodicals archive
Recording took place last week when Janet rubbed shoulders with dead ringers for Camilla Parker Bowles, Ali G and others.
Don't vote me out!; SAYS ANNE LOOKALIKE CONTESTANT
Other rock classics featured in the show include Paradise By the Dashboard Light, Dead Ringer For Love and Not A Dry Eye in the House.
Previews; Friday Live
DEAD RINGERS: Labour MP Love and X Factor star Wagner.
I'M NOT WAGNER; Lookalike MP singled out for X Factor jokes
Perhaps you are a dead ringer for Sven or even have a face as scary as referee Collina.
Could you look like a Euro star?
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 rock star Meat Loaf has been jailed.
LIKE A BAT INTO CELL FOR PETE; Tribute act jailed
They must be 50 at least, have a waist as big as their bosom, a backside the size of a small country and be a dead ringer for Mrs Doubtfire.
Carole Malone: Thierry Henry
When Dot Cotton finally saw the light and showed shiftless son Nick the door she was a dead ringer for the comedy hero.
Hot Telly: DOT COTTONS ON TO STEPTOE
The name comes from the phrase "dead ringer", as the stolen vehicle has the registration number - and often the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) - of another car.
MOTORING: MOTOR JARGON; DRIVE TIME
A MODEL hits the catwalk in an outfit that looks a dead ringer for Darth Vader.
Daft Vader
Loaded down with jewellery, Chucky Venice looked a dead ringer for American rap star P Diddy, while Phina Oruche, who plays his girlfriend Liberty in the show, could give Naomi Campell a run for her money on the catwalk.
AND IT'S NAOMI & P DIDDY GOING DOWN THE BLING.
What's more, with his flat cap he looked a dead ringer for the group's Mike Love.
Miami beach boy
A PEST controller is being pestered by screaming fans - because he's a dead ringer for Louis Walsh.
I'm a Louislike; PETER THE RAT CATCHER FINDS FAME AS A DOUBLE FOR IRISH X FACTOR STAR
"He's a dead ringer for Vernon and he was absolutely chuffed to come out tops.
Looks Mikey like Vernon
But there's one artefact that doesn't catch her eye - a statue of a singer that's a dead ringer for her ex-husband, the sex-addicted musician Eric Benet.
Snapped: Halle Berry: Window shopping