second fiddle
nounDefinition of second fiddle
: one that plays a supporting or subservient role
Examples of second fiddle in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Sick of playing second fiddle, Navas wanted out, got out and landed in a pretty unique situation. — Avi Creditor, SI.com, "The Top 10 Summer Transfer Window Classes Around Europe," 3 Sep. 2019 The soaring crescendos of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber are once again prominent, matched by the haunting lyrics of Charles Hart which play second fiddle but deserve equal attention. — Tom Titus, Daily Pilot, "Review:: On Theater: ‘Phantom’ resurrected with a vengeance at Segerstrom," 15 July 2019 The intriguing question, then and now, is whether Zappa helped plant the idea in Perot’s mind of seeking the presidency on his own, rather than playing second fiddle. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "That time Frank Zappa considered running for president with H. Ross Perot as his veep," 9 July 2019 Counting Crows Counting Crows was doing a fair job commanding the stage, but around 5:30 p.m., the band played second fiddle to a dark, menacing cloud that rolled across what had been beautiful blue skies. — Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "7 takeaways from Willie Nelson's Outlaw Music Festival at Summerfest," 28 June 2019 After have a very good season, one of the most over-achieving teams in the NBA has to play second fiddle in their own city. — latimes.com, "Letters: Baseball needs a bigger safety net, and now," 27 June 2019 At Grant Park, there’s no avoiding the monolith dwarfing everything, including the musicians, who play second fiddle to their own image. — Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, "Grant Park Orchestra review: A visually daunting season-opener with Mayor Lori Lightfoot," 13 June 2019 Indeed, after decades of playing second fiddle to stocks,... — Simon Constable, WSJ, "Two Trendy ‘Cash Phrases’," 3 Feb. 2019 The Dumplin' actress' astronomical professional success constantly plays second fiddle to her personal life—and what the public thinks is wrong with it. — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, "Jennifer Aniston Says the Idea of Having Kids Is 'Frightening' to Her," 7 Dec. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'second fiddle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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