Dead Ringers.html
 
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Please improve this article if you can. (January 2009)
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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.'"

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 centre', 'dead heat', etc.

So, dead ringer is literally the same as exact duplicate

See also doppelgänger.

Dead Ringer or Dead Ringers is the also the title of:
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