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In the days of Shakespeare there would be a fiddle player on stage. This was the fiddle player that the crowd would see. However, sometimes strings would break. So there would be a second person behind the curtain, offstage who played just as well as the person on stage. When the person on stage would break a string, he would continue on as if he were playing while the second fiddler would actually be what the crowd was hearing. No one ever saw or knew or applauded the second fiddler! So this is where that term came from.

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13y ago
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15y ago

The lead fiddle player in an orchestra received recognition and attention, so if you played second fiddle - the back-up, or supporting fiddle - you were out of the spotlight and received little attention. The phrase second fiddle is usually used when a person is feeling inferior, or when someone else is receiving all the credit while he/she is unrecognized.

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Q: Where does the term second fiddle come from?
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Play second fiddle?

It means to come in behind someone else, as if they were the first fiddle in the orchestra and you were the second one. The second fiddle in an orchestra supports the first one and plays harmony for them - someone who is playing second fiddle supports the other person and backs them up.


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