Second Banana Definition

noun

One, such as an assistant or deputy, who is subordinate to another.

American Heritage

A performer in show business, esp. burlesque, who plays a subordinate role, as straight man, to the top banana, or star comedian.

Webster's New World

Any person in a subordinate, often servile, position.

Webster's New World

Second banana is the sidekick to a funny person on a comedy team who is serious, in contrast to the funny person.

An example of second banana is Bill Murray in Kingpin.

YourDictionary

(idiomatic) A person who serves in a supporting, secondary, or subsidiary capacity; an assistant.

The plumber left his second banana behind, to finish installing my new sink.

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

Other Word Forms of Second Banana

Singular:

second banana

Plural:

second-bananas

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