straight man
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s the closest O’Hara gets to playing the straight man, if a straight man was a mother on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026
On UPN’s “Malcolm & Eddie,” which premiered in 1996, he’s the straight man to Eddie Griffin’s frenetic doofus.
From Salon • Jul. 23, 2025
Mir, a high-strung anxious perfectionist, was written as more of the audience stand-in, the straight man.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2025
But he has grown into his role at “Saturday Night Live,” proving to be an especially strong straight man adept at the comedy of embarrassment.
From New York Times • Apr. 28, 2024
Jim Thorpe’s been a straight man all his days in Barnriff.
From The One-Way Trail A story of the cattle country by Cullum, Ridgwell
