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• Tweedledum and Tweedledee
  Tweedledum and Tweedledee

  plural noun

  two persons or things nominally different but practically the same; a nearly identical pair.
• tweedledum and tweedledee
  tweedledum and tweedledee

  Two matters, persons, or groups that are very much alike, as in Bob says he's not voting in this election because the candidates are tweedledum and tweedledee. This term was invented by John Byrom, who in 1725 made fun of two quarreling composers, Handel and Bononcini, and said there was little difference between their music, since one went “tweedledum” and the other “tweedledee.” The term gained further currency when Lewis Carroll used it for two fat little men in Through the Looking-Glass (1872). For a synonym, see six of one, half dozen of the other.

Tweedledum and Tweedledee

American  

[tweed-l-duhm uhn tweed-l-dee] / ˌtwid lˈdʌm ən ˌtwid lˈdi /

plural noun

1. two persons or things nominally different but practically the same; a nearly identical pair.

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Tweedledum and Tweedledee British  

/ ˌtwiːdəlˈdʌm, ˌtwiːdəlˈdiː /

noun

1. any two persons or things that differ only slightly from each other; two of a kind

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Tweedledum and Tweedledee Cultural  

1. Fictional characters from Through the Looking-Glass, by Lewis Carroll. They are pictured as fat twins who are identical in speech, attitude, and appearance.

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tweedledum and tweedledee Idioms  

1. Two matters, persons, or groups that are very much alike, as in Bob says he's not voting in this election because the candidates are tweedledum and tweedledee. This term was invented by John Byrom, who in 1725 made fun of two quarreling composers, Handel and Bononcini, and said there was little difference between their music, since one went “tweedledum” and the other “tweedledee.” The term gained further currency when Lewis Carroll used it for two fat little men in Through the Looking-Glass (1872). For a synonym, see six of one, half dozen of the other.

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Discover More

Figuratively, any two people or positions that have no real differences are said to be “like Tweedledum and Tweedledee.”

Etymology

Origin of Tweedledum and Tweedledee

1715–25; humorous coinage, apparently first applied as nicknames to Giovanni Bononcini and Handel, with reference to their musical rivalry; see tweedle

Example Sentences

They are characterized in costume and farcical manner as Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2023

And it’s pretty obvious to us as well that these guys aren’t Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

From Washington Post • Dec. 13, 2021

The Royal Mint has released the second of two Through the Looking Glass themed £5 coins, this one featuring Alice meeting twins Tweedledum and Tweedledee, to celebrate 150 years since the book's release.

From BBC • Aug. 2, 2021

As if it’s not Tweedledum and Tweedledee but an actual choice between two vastly different dramas, two different worlds of outcome and meaning.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 22, 2016

A few anti-paradoxers brought in common sense: but to the mass of the readers of the journal it all seemed to be the difference between Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

From A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume II by Smith, David Eugene