dead ringer

noun

Slang.

1. a person or thing that closely resembles another; ringer.

   That old car is a dead ringer for the one we used to own.

Word History and Origins

Origin of dead ringer¹

First recorded in 1890–95

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Example Sentences

They’re pretty much dead ringers for each other, especially when they showed up to Augusta National this week wearing the same gray quarter-zip pullovers.

From Los Angeles Times

Tom Hollander is a dead ringer for Capote, while Naomi Watts’ Babe Paley is stunning and tragic.

From Salon

And, he wrote, their focus on the specifics of their situations ignored Bruen’s guidance that a historic law does not have to be a “dead ringer” to support a modern one.

From Los Angeles Times

The cashier was mum on the “secret sauce,” but that chili mayo is a dead ringer for the popular bang bang sauce.

From Seattle Times

They are doppelgangers, dead ringers with basset hound eyes a signature feature.

From Los Angeles Times