second banana

American  

noun

Informal.

1. a comic who supports the leading comedian, often as a straight man, especially in burlesque or vaudeville.

2. any person who plays a secondary role or serves in a subsidiary capacity.

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second banana Idioms  

1. see under top banana.

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Etymology

Origin of second banana

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

This time, monsters and mayhem play second banana to the people experiencing them, and “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” revels in showing us what that looks like.

From Salon • Sep. 9, 2024

“The Flash,” directed by Andy Muschietti from a script by Christina Hodson, shrewdly keeps Barry in don’t-get-no-respect mode even as it moves this self-deprecating second banana front and center.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2023

A second banana was the second most important person in an organization.

From Washington Post • Jul. 4, 2021

Watching Candace Against the Universe with my delighted, now–Candace-aged Phineas and Ferb fans, I was so pleased to see a longtime second banana get her due.

From Slate • Aug. 24, 2020

I did the same with the second banana.

From "The Honest Truth" by Dan Gemeinhart