dead ringer
Definition
- Noun:
- A person who looks almost exactly like another person: A "dead ringer" is someone who bears a striking, often uncanny, resemblance to someone else, to the point of being nearly identical in appearance.
Usage
- The term is used to describe an extremely close physical likeness between two people, often causing confusion or surprise.
- It is an informal, idiomatic expression, commonly used in spoken English.
- It typically functions as a predicate noun following a linking verb like "is" or "was" (e.g., "She is a dead ringer for...") or as a direct object (e.g., "He saw a dead ringer for...").
Examples
- Noun:
- With that haircut, you are a dead ringer for your father when he was young.
- The new actor is a dead ringer for the famous singer from the 1980s.
- I did a double-take because I thought I saw my cousin, but it was just a dead ringer.
Advanced Usage
- "to be a dead ringer for [someone]": This is the most common construction, used to state that one person looks exactly like another specific person.
- The stunt double was a dead ringer for the lead actor, making the scene very convincing.
Variants and Related Words
- Look-alike (n): A more neutral, formal term for a person who closely resembles another.
- She hired a celebrity look-alike for the party.
- Doppelgänger (n): A term, often with a supernatural or eerie connotation, for a non-related look-alike or double of a living person.
- Meeting his doppelgänger on the street was an unsettling experience.
Synonyms
- Spitting image: (idiom) A person who looks exactly like another.
- Double: A person who looks exactly like another.
- Clone: (informal) Used to emphasize an extremely close resemblance.
Related Idioms
- Spitting image: Very similar in meaning to "dead ringer," emphasizing an exact likeness, often between family members.
- The baby is the spitting image of his grandfather.
Noun
-
a person who is almost identical to another
