play second fiddle
play second fiddle verb: to play a subsidiary or subordinate role to someone or something else.
Verb
play second fiddle (third-person singular simple present plays second fiddle, present participle playing second fiddle, simple past and past participle played second fiddle)
- To play a subsidiary or subordinate role to someone or something else.
- She had been mistress of the farm so long that it would be hard for her to play second fiddle, but give her time and she'd be as good as new butter and as nice as ninepence, he said.1913, Ethel Carnie, Miss Nobody, page 68
- Christmas queen Mary Berry's aubergine five-nut roast, from her Christmas Collection, is, as the name suggests, rather more focused on the nut side of things. Breadcrumbs play second fiddle to a medley of almonds, Brazils, chestnuts, pine nuts and pistachios which, although tangy with lemon juice...2011 December 15, Felicity Cloake, “How to cook the perfect nut roast”, in Guardian
play second fiddle meaning in Tamil
play second fiddle in Tamil
- ஒத்தூதுதல், சார்ந்திருத்தல்
Forms of play second fiddle
| third-person singular present | plays second fiddle |
|---|---|
| present participle | playing second fiddle |
| past participle | played second fiddle |
| past | played second fiddle |
Origin of play second fiddle
From the second violin in an orchestra.
Questions about play second fiddle
- What does play second fiddle mean?
- Play second fiddle means to play a subsidiary or subordinate role to someone or something else.
- What is play second fiddle in Tamil?
- Play second fiddle in Tamil is ஒத்தூதுதல், சார்ந்திருத்தல். See Play second fiddle meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is play second fiddle?
- Play second fiddle is a verb.
- What is the past tense of play second fiddle?
- The past tense of play second fiddle is played second fiddle.
Words near play second fiddle in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: play second fiddle (page history and authors); play second fiddle (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-play second fiddle.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-play second fiddle.wav.
Cite this entry: “play second fiddle.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/play_second_fiddle. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.