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Dead Ringer
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What is the origin of the phrase "dead ringer"? I am told it is related to the rather hasty and premature entombment of sufferers of the plague, who when they regained consciousness, found they had been placed in a coffin. Realising this potential adverse consequence, a string and attached bell were subsequently placed with air holes in coffins so that those that were alive could alert the graveyard staff, hence the term "dead ringer".
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