a dead ringer

a dead ringer
Meaning
An exact duplicate.
Origin
A ringer is a horse substituted for another to defraud the bookies. Dead here means exact rather than lifeless. The Victorian practise of fitting wires and bells into coffins to allow people who were buried alive to call for rescue is unrelated. Such devices certainly did exist but weren't the source of the phrase.

Meaning and origin of phrases. 2013.

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