What does the phrase dead ringer mean?

Answer 1

the same as...like if i see someone who looks just like you i say "wow she is a dead ringer of you"

Answer 2

Real Dead Ringer For Love

Answer 3

Let's first dispense with the nonsensical idea that's sometimes put forward as the origin of this phrase, i.e. that it refers to people who were prematurely buried and who pulled on bell ropes that were attached to their coffins in order to attract attention. This is "saved by the bell." That theory has even less going for it as an explanation of 'dead ringer' than it has for 'saved by the bell'. At least in that case the meaning of the phrase has some connection with the supposed explanation, but how does the premature burial derivation of 'dead ringer' explain why it means 'exact duplicate'? There's no evidence for this idea. Better not to dwell on it any longer and get on with the real origin, and back to why dead; why ringer?

A ringer is a horse substituted for another of similar appearance in order to defraud the bookies. This word originated in the US horse-racing fraternity at the end of the 19th century. The word is defined for us in a copy of the Manitoba Free Press from October 1882:

"A horse that is taken through the country and trotted under a false name and pedigree is called a 'ringer.'"

It has since been adopted into the language to mean any very close duplicate. As a verb, 'ring' has long been used to mean 'exchange/substitute' in a variety of situations, most of them illegal

So, that's ringer; what about dead? Dead, in the sense of lifeless, is so commonly used that we tend to ignore its other meanings. The meaning that's relevant here is exact or precise. This is demonstrated in many phrases; 'dead shot', 'dead center', 'dead heat', etc.

So, 'dead ringer' is literally the same as 'exact duplicate'. It first came into use soon after the word ringer itself, in the US at the end of the 19th century. The earliest reference I can find that confirms the 'exact duplicate' meaning is from the Oshkosh Weekly Times, June 1888, in a court report of a man charged with being 'very drunk':

"Dat ar is a markable semlance be shoo", said Hart looking critically at the picture. "Dat's a dead ringer fo me. I nebber done see such a semblence."

Answer 4

This phrase means you look like someone else. There are many people who look like movie stars, so they would be a dead ringer for that movie star.

Answer 5

If you need more of an explenation just put the word dead ringer into the search engine and you get a real good one..

Answer 6

It means something different today than it originally did. When people died and were buried they were sometimes dug up again to add another body to the site. People were not embalmed, and it was found that some of the people had been buried alive. Scratch marks were found on the inside of the coffin. The story goes that then they started burying people with a tube that ran down into the coffin. Inside the tube was a string. The string ran up to a bell, so that if the person was alive they could ring the bell! Creepy, huh?

Answer 7

A "dead ringer" is simply someone who is extremely close in appearance to another, in the same way as someone who is "dead wrong" is as wrong as he can possibly can be.

Answer 8

If you watched "Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail," that dude who is walking around with a wheelbarrow full of corpses saying "Bring out yer dead" is a dead ringer.

Answer 9

If someone looks like brad pitt he's a dead ringer for brad pitt

Answer 10

The origin is from horse shoes. It is a metaphor for absolutely right on target!!!

I hope this helps,

Lonnie