Tweedledum and Tweedledee
[tweed-l-duhm uh n tweed-l-dee]
plural noun
two persons or things nominally different but practically the same; a nearly identical pair.
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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Tweedledum and Tweedledee
noun
Word Origin for Tweedledum and Tweedledee
C19: from the proverbial names of Handel and the musician Buononcini, who were supported by rival factions though it was thought by some that there was nothing to choose between them. The names were popularized by Lewis Carroll's use of them in Through the Looking Glass (1872)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Note
Figuratively, any two people or positions that have no real differences are said to be “like Tweedledum and Tweedledee.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
tweedledum and tweedledee
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.