second banana
4
7.6
- noun
- /ˈsɛkənd bəˈnænə/
- Informal
:
segundo de a bordo
- The second banana is the fellow who sets up the jokes for the first banana.
- play second banana
Examples
-
Ed was then at the height of his TV career on The Tonight Show as Johnny Carson's sidekick, or "second banana" as he called himself.
Academic text (2009) -
So that leaves you stuck in the middle, playing second banana, as usual.
-
I could make you a second banana just like that.
-
Being the second banana meant he was the featured player, not the star.
-
You were fed up with being a disciple, tired of playing second banana.
Fiction book (1997) -
In 1950, trying to recoup, NBC Radio launched The Big Show, a weekly 90-minute extravaganza emceed by Tallulah Bankhead, with Allen as second banana.
Academic text (2007) -
By bringing gravitas to what easily could have been a second-banana role, Franco parlayed the movies into a significant film career—and an Oscars co-hosting gig.
Blog text (4) -
In the comedy duo, one member is always the star while the other is the second banana, supporting with humor.
-
The director often needed a reliable second banana to make the leading actor's performance shine even brighter.
-
After years of being a second banana in the group, she finally got her chance to take the lead role.
Synonyms
214
2.8
Having a lower job that supports a higher role
19
3.5
A less important position in a group or activity
8
6.0
A person who has a less important role and helps someone more important
3
3.4
An actor who plays a small but important role in a film or play
1
7.5
A player who usually sits on the bench and replaces others during games
A player who does not start games and replaces starters when needed
Antonyms
How Prominent
Surface Forms
Morphology
2nd + banana
While 'second' clearly signals a lower rank or following position, 'banana' (a fruit) has no obvious semantic relation to being an assistant or supporting performer. The phrase is idiomatic (historically from theatrical jargon) and the overall meaning cannot be derived from the literal constituents, so a B1 learner who only knows the parts would not reliably infer the intended sense.
Etymology
The noun second banana may come from old comedy shows where the main funny person was called the 'top banana' and the helper, the second banana, stood beside them and made the star look good. That's why second banana now means someone in a 'supporting' or 'assistant' role.