Idiom
second banana
Meaning
A comedian who plays a secondary or supporting role, especially as straight man and traditionally in vaudeville or burlesque theatre.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He is tired of always being the second banana.”
“The lead actor was brilliant, but his partner played the second banana perfectly to keep the audience laughing.”
“Although he possessed immense talent, he spent his entire career as a second banana, forever supporting the stars who claimed the spotlight.”
Examples
simple
“He is tired of always being the second banana.”
contextual
“The lead actor was brilliant, but his partner played the second banana perfectly to keep the audience laughing.”
complex
“Although he possessed immense talent, he spent his entire career as a second banana, forever supporting the stars who claimed the spotlight.”
Key words
Related idioms
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