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second fiddle
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noun
a person or thing filling a secondary role, especially to one immediately superior (also used attributively): He has a certain strength and humility that comes from being in a second-fiddle position for years.That new copycat seafood restaurant will never be more than a second fiddle to ours.
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Idioms about second fiddle
play second fiddle, to act in a secondary role: She's tired of playing second fiddle to her egomaniacal teammate.
Origin of second fiddle
First recorded in 1825–35
Words nearby second fiddle
second division, seconde, secondee, Second Empire, second estate, second fiddle, second floor, second-foot, second-generation, second gentleman, second growth
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use second fiddle in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for second fiddle
second fiddle
noun informal
- the second violin in a string quartet or one of the second violins in an orchestra
- the musical part assigned to such an instrument
a secondary status
a person who has a secondary status
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with second fiddle
second fiddle
see play second fiddle.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.