as in second banana
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Recent Examples of top banana
In Planet of the Apes and for some reason Better Man, these apes are first on the call sheet, Chimps in a Leading Role, top banana.
—
Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 15 Jan. 2025
So which restaurant did Yelp readers declare top banana?
—Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 21 June 2022
Guillermo Rodriguez always fancied himself as the top banana.
—Lars Brandle, Billboard, 9 July 2019
This is, alas, the Yahweh of the early Hebrews, a fickle, petulant, seemingly amoral deity whose childish obsession is with proving himself top banana in the pantheon of primitive gods.
—Sam Sacks, WSJ, 12 July 2018
Companies, government agencies and institutes are spending millions of dollars on research and development to find a new top banana.
—Lucy Craymer, WSJ, 18 Dec. 2017
Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 15 Jan. 2025
So which restaurant did Yelp readers declare top banana?
—Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 21 June 2022
Guillermo Rodriguez always fancied himself as the top banana.
—Lars Brandle, Billboard, 9 July 2019
This is, alas, the Yahweh of the early Hebrews, a fickle, petulant, seemingly amoral deity whose childish obsession is with proving himself top banana in the pantheon of primitive gods.
—Sam Sacks, WSJ, 12 July 2018
Companies, government agencies and institutes are spending millions of dollars on research and development to find a new top banana.
—Lucy Craymer, WSJ, 18 Dec. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for top banana
Noun
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Dan and Louise end the series still married, though Louise's struggles with feeling like the second banana to Roseanne bother her throughout the final two episodes.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
24 Apr. 2025
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Towns might be better off as a second banana than a No. 1 option anyway.—
Bryan Toporek,
Forbes,
28 Sep. 2024
Noun
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Bernabe caught the attention of Twitter gagman and Banana Capital founder Turner Novak, who’s made a name for himself by entwining industry analysis with creative memes on social media.—
Nina Wolpow,
Forbes,
23 Sep. 2021
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Indeed, many New Yorker artists once relied on gagmen.—
Thomas Vinciguerra,
WSJ,
16 Nov. 2018
Noun
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Louis-Dreyfus and her mother went to family therapy as adults When the comedian was 60 and Judith was 87, the two went to therapy together.—
Julie Tremaine,
People.com,
1 May 2025
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The comedian spoke out while hosting a gala in tribute to Duke Ellington at New York's Jazz at the Lincoln Center on April 30 and got a laugh from Alec Baldwin and Joy Reid, who were in the audience.—
Jack Royston,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 May 2025
Noun
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When it was all said and done and Yorkie gave one final wag of her tail, she was revealed to be Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, singer, and actress Erika Jayne.—
Lauren Huff,
EW.com,
10 Apr. 2025
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The direction of the wag matters, too—research suggests that dogs tend to wag more to the right when feeling positive and to the left when experiencing negative emotions.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
18 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Top banana.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/top%20banana. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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