Dead Ringer

100% identical. A duplicate.



A ringer is a horse substituted for another of similar appearance in order to defraud the bookies. 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 eye', 'dead centre', 'dead heat', etc. So, 'dead ringer' is literally the same as 'exact duplicate'



Ex: Him and his twin are dead ringers!



Spanish: vivo retrato



German: Doppelgänger

