have sole ownership / responsibility etc phrase Sole at flatfish self-organized learning environment: a method of education in which groups of children learn independently using computers connected to the Internet Synonyms and related words
Definition. A dead metaphor is traditionally defined as a figure of speech that has lost its force and imaginative effectiveness through frequent use. Also known as a frozen metaphor or a historical metaphor. Contrast with creative metaphor.
Dead, in the sense of lifeless, is so commonly used that we tend to ignore its other meanings. The meaning that's relevant here is exact or precise. This is demonstrated in many phrases; 'dead shot', 'dead centre', 'dead heat', etc. So, 'dead ringer' is literally the same as 'exact duplicate'. It first came into use soon after the word ringer itself, in the US at the end of the 19th century.