SECOND FIDDLE Definition & Meaning

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second fiddle

noun

a person or thing filling a secondary role, especially to one immediately superior (often used attributively): That new copycat seafood restaurant will never be more than a second fiddle to ours.
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.

second fiddle

noun

1. the second violin in a string quartet or one of the second violins in an orchestra
2. the musical part assigned to such an instrument
a secondary status
a person who has a secondary status

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of second fiddle¹

First recorded in 1825–35

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Idioms and Phrases

play second fiddle, to act in a secondary role:
She's tired of playing second fiddle to her egomaniacal teammate.

More idioms and phrases containing second fiddle

see play second fiddle .

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Example Sentences

Minnesota have played second fiddle to the likes of the Lions and Eagles this season but they could well end up top of the NFC pile.

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Despite this form and lifting Premier League titles and the Champions League, the 2022 World Cup winner was playing second fiddle to the prolific Haaland.

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Critics argue the richest and most competitive fight in the female code should not be playing second fiddle to the Tyson-Paul carnival.

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All week he played second fiddle to Joshua, but the silent assassin refused to be intimidated when it mattered, not taking a single back stop and dropping AJ four times.

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Harry Brook, usually an aggressor, was another that played second fiddle to Pope in an unbroken stand of 40 of which Brook has so far made eight.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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