as in second
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Recent Examples of second fiddle
Unfortunately, similar to the (albeit heartwarming) tale between a restaurant garbage boy and Remy the rat, O’Connor — much like Linguini — was stuck playing second fiddle tonight on SNL, puppeted to and fro from sketch to sketch that sidelined his comedic talents.
—
Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 13 Dec. 2025
Down ⬇ Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value Panahi’s rise has sapped momentum from Neon’s other big foreign-language contender, which is now playing second fiddle to its stablemate.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
Overall, though, Harvey continued to round into a complete three-down back Sunday after playing second fiddle to Dobbins for much of the year.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 2 Dec. 2025
The Ed Gein Story and All’s Fair were met with critical hostility — the first is a thematically repetitive and exploitative condemnation of true crime and the audience who loves it, the second a bizarrely overqualified ensemble of acting titans playing second fiddle to Kim Kardashian.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 17 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for second fiddle
Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 13 Dec. 2025
Down ⬇ Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value Panahi’s rise has sapped momentum from Neon’s other big foreign-language contender, which is now playing second fiddle to its stablemate.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
Overall, though, Harvey continued to round into a complete three-down back Sunday after playing second fiddle to Dobbins for much of the year.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 2 Dec. 2025
The Ed Gein Story and All’s Fair were met with critical hostility — the first is a thematically repetitive and exploitative condemnation of true crime and the audience who loves it, the second a bizarrely overqualified ensemble of acting titans playing second fiddle to Kim Kardashian.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 17 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for second fiddle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for second fiddle
Noun
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But Texas responded with a jump shot by Booker and layups from Harmon and Carlton in a span of 37 seconds.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
2 Feb. 2026
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Rutgers star guard Tariq Francis, who already had 26 points, dribbled around half court with seconds to go.—
Sean Campbell,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The agency is working with its partners to stop hackers from exploiting any of the vulnerabilities identified in the report, said Nick Andersen, CISA’s executive assistant director for cybersecurity.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
5 Feb. 2026
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But the university wanted a coach with more experience, Hunt said, and instead hired Bob Sundvold — a head coach at nearby Division II Central Missouri and, previously, a longtime assistant at Mizzou under the legendary Norm Stewart.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The ceasefire's initial phase focused on hostage exchanges, increased humanitarian aid and a limited Israeli pullback.—
Bradford Betz,
FOXNews.com,
2 Feb. 2026
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And in the United Kingdom, the group Pickups For Peace has included fishing nets from Scottish ports such as Fraserburgh among its regular aid convoys to Ukraine.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Last week, Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that an aide to Jones' rival, Attorney General Chris Carr, shared a link to one of the group's ads with a Republican activist two days before the commercial began airing.—
Zachary Bynum,
CBS News,
3 Feb. 2026
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The investigation is set to conclude by early summer, according to Senate Judiciary Committee aides, and a final report expected at the end of the year.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Collier County deputies arrested Zecca at the same Naples apartment where the July 2025 shooting occurred.—
Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
5 Feb. 2026
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Police with long guns walked around the school’s perimeter and armed deputies cruised the campus on golf carts.—
Max Klaver,
Miami Herald,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
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At the time, there were an estimated 450 greater adjutant storks left in the region.—
Kyla Mandel,
TIME,
20 Feb. 2025
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Since 2019, when Woodward took over as the Gooding adjutant, that totals more than $23,000, according to an accounting obtained by the Statesman from the county clerk through a public records request.—
Kevin Fixler,
Idaho Statesman,
13 July 2024
Noun
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Schnurr came to Cincinnati in 2008 as coadjutor archbishop and took over as archbishop about a year later, upon the retirement of former Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk.—
Dan Horn,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
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By 1997, he was named coadjutor archbishop of Buenos Aires, assuming full leadership of the archdiocese the following year.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Second fiddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/second%20fiddle. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.
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