Today's Word

Yesterday's Word

Archives

FAQ

Oct 31, 2006

This week's theme
Ordinal words

This week's words
fifth column
fourth estate
third degree
second fiddle
first water

---

Follow us on
@AWAD
@WordsmithOrg
@AnagramTimes

---

second fiddle

noun: A secondary role. A person in such a role.

[In an orchestra, the first violins carry the main melody while second violins are considered to be in a subordinate position. Earliest documented use: 1809.]

"Felipe Massa is in the unfortunate position of having to play second fiddle to Schumacher."
Norris McDonald; Bad News is No Star to Replace Michael; Toronto Star (Canada); Oct 14, 2006.

See more usage examples of fourth estate in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

X-Bonus