What does the idiom play second fiddle mean?
Definition of second fiddle
: one that plays a supporting or subservient role.
What is the meaning of to play on a fiddle?
1 : to play on a fiddle. 2a : to move the hands or fingers restlessly. b : to spend time in aimless or fruitless activity : putter, tinker fiddled around with the engine for hours. c : meddle, tamper. d : to make minor manual movements especially to adjust something fiddled with the radio knobs.
Where did the saying playing second fiddle come from?
The expression play second fiddle is derived from the way a musical orchestra is organized. The first violin is the musician who leads the section and is the highest position of the musicians in the orchestra. This means that the second violin musician is subordinate to the first violin.
What’s another word for second fiddle?
In this page you can discover 10 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for second-fiddle, like: back-seat, benchwarmer, secondary role, low man on totem pole, reserves, second-string, second-stringer, second team, understudy and second-banana.
What does playing third fiddle mean?
take a subordinate role to someone or something. The expression derives from the respective roles of the fiddles or violins in an orchestra. Both play first fiddle and play third fiddle are much less common.
What does the idiom put two and two together mean?
make a correct guess
: to make a correct guess based on what one has seen or heard : to figure something out. You weren’t home so I put two and two together and went back to your office to find you.
What is played like a fiddle?
To easily and deftly manipulate someone to suit one’s own needs, ends, or benefits. That travelling salesman played me like a fiddle. Now what am I going to do with all this junk that he convinced me to buy?
Are you having a fiddle meaning?
A fiddle is a dishonest action or scheme in which someone gets money for themselves.
What does the idiom snake in the grass mean?
Definition of snake in the grass
: a secretly faithless friend.
What is a 2nd string?
Definition of second-string
: being a substitute as distinguished from a regular (as on a ball team)
What is the meaning of the idiom a man of straw?
man of straw noun [C] (WEAK)
someone who has a weak character: He was accused by his opponents of being a man of straw and lacking in decisiveness.
What is the meaning of the idiom notch up?
to achieve something
informal. to achieve something: She has recently notched up her third win at a major ski event. Succeeding, achieving and fulfilling.
What is eating humble pie mean?
to admit that one was wrong
informal. : to admit that one was wrong or accept that one has been defeated They had to eat humble pie when the rumors they were spreading were proved false.
What is the meaning of the idiom to go scot free?
Definition of get off scot-free
informal. : to not get the punishment that is deserved It’s not fair. I was punished and they got off scot-free.
What does playing to the gallery mean?
Definition of play to the gallery
: to do things that one thinks will be popular among many people instead of doing what one thinks is right a governor who refuses to play to the gallery.
How do you use the word fiddle in a sentence?
1 She managed to fiddle a free trip to America. 2 He is above meanness and fiddle. 3 They suspected he was on the fiddle all along. 4 We need an experienced player who can fiddle away for hours for the country dancing.
Does fiddle mean lie?
fiddle verb (CHEAT)
to act dishonestly in order to get something for yourself, or to change something dishonestly, especially to your advantage: She managed to fiddle a free trip to America. He had been fiddling the accounts/books/finances for years.
What is the idiom give up the ghost?
(intransitive, idiomatic) To cease clinging to life; to die. quotations ▼synonyms ▲ Synonyms: yield up the ghost, yield the ghost; see also Thesaurus:die. (intransitive, idiomatic, figuratively) To quit; to cease functioning. My old computer finally gave up the ghost the other day.
What does donkey work mean?
Definition of donkeywork
: monotonous and routine work : drudgery.
What does third string mean?
Adjective. third-string (not comparable) belonging to the third string of a team; one who plays behind the first and second strings. The young college quarterback was on the third-string, and played only during blowouts. a substitute or replacement.
Why is it called first string and second string?
The idiom second string was first used in the realm of sports in the 1800s. The first string players are the best on the team, and see the most playing time. The second string players are sent into the game when the first string players are injured or when they need a rest.
What does the idiom to smell a rat mean?
idiom. to recognize that something is not as it appears to be or that something dishonest is happening: He’s been working late with her every night this week – I smell a rat! Suspecting & questioning.
What is the idiom of a wolf in sheep’s clothing?
someone or something that seems to be good but is actually not good at all: My grandfather was a wolf in sheep’s clothing – he looked like a sweet old man, but he was really mean.
What is the meaning of the idiom up for grabs?
phrase. If something is up for grabs, it is available to anyone who is interested. [informal]
What do you mean by pessimistic?
: a person who habitually expects bad things to happen or thinks things are bad. More from Merriam-Webster on pessimist.