second banana
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
A person who plays a secondary role to someone else
Literally: a secondary banana in a comedic act
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
He was content being the second banana to the charismatic lead actor
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “second banana” mean?
A person who plays a secondary role to someone else Literally: a secondary banana in a comedic act
Is “second banana” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.