What’s a fiddle? It’s a violin! A popular, old-fashioned, folk word for violin though it could also refer to another stringed instrument, like a viola or a cello, that’s played with a bow.
Who’s first fiddle? And who’s second?
Playing second “second fiddle”
“Playing second fiddle” is an idiom meaning:
👉 To be in a subordinate role
👉 To be less important than someone else
👉 To support rather than lead
Where it comes from
In an orchestra, the first violin (first fiddle) plays the main melody and is usually the leader of the string section.
The second violin (second fiddle) plays harmony and supports the first violin.
So metaphorically, how it’s used:
- If you “play second fiddle to someone,” you take a secondary, less visible position while they are the main focus.
And that’s the way it is sometimes in couples: either the husband or the wife has the leading role and the spouse … plays second fiddle.
And here’s a lone fiddler … on the roof. From the Broadway musical of the same name:
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