The Ringer
Disguised skilled competitor
A ringer is someone secretly substituted for another to gain unfair advantage—a professional slipped into an amateur competition, or a skilled player disguised as a novice: They brought in a ringer for the charity softball game.
The term comes from horse racing, where a fast horse might be "rung in" under a slower horse's name.
By extension, a ringer is anyone deceptively good at something: She looked like a beginner but turned out to be a total ringer.
A dead ringer is an exact duplicate or look-alike.
- impostorOne feigning another's identity
- fraudIntentional criminal trickery
- con artistProfessional fraud perpetrator
- decoyFalse target for misdirection
- doubleTwice the amount
bell · chime · phone · phone call · doppelganger · body double · stunt double · substitute · identity theft · lookalike · scam · hustle · pull a fast one · bait and switch · competition · underdog · boxing · con