Idiom – Top banana

Top banana – Idiom of the Day

Meaning:

A person who holds a leadership position.

History:

History dates back to the usage of the phrase to the 1920’s. In those days, comedians in America tried to make people laugh using a banana peel gag. Comedians who handled the banana peel gag in a clever way, made the people laugh harder. So managers of the shows started calling the best comedians as top bananas.

Idiom scenarios:

Scenario 1: 

Friend 1: Why are you practising the Guitar, all day?

Friend 2: I want to steal the show in Christmas.

Friend 1: I see. You seem to want to become the top banana!

Scenario 2: 

Friend 1: Who is she?

Friend 2: She is Roopa Kapoor, the famous actress!

Friend 1: She seems to have a huge fan following.

Friend 2: Yes! She is the top banana in the industry now.

Exercises:

Fill in the blanks to understand the usage of the idiom:

1. You have to work hard to become the …………………. in any field.
2. She shot to fame through the film “ABC”. From then on she was the ………………….. in Hollywood.
3. Everybody in the hall was waiting for the performance of the ……………………..