Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Wiktionary
n. 1 (&lit straight man English) 2 (context idiomatic English) A member of a team of comic performers who plays a supporting role by helping to set up jokes and punch lines through engaging in preparatory dialog with the principal comedian; a foil who plays such a role in theatrical comedy.
WordNet
n. a performer who acts as stooge to a comedian [syn: second banana]
Wikipedia
Straight Man (New York: Random House, 1997) is a novel by Richard Russo set at the fictional West Central Pennsylvania University in Railton, Pennsylvania. It is a mid-life crisis tale told in the first person by William Henry Devereaux, Jr., the unlikely interim chairman of the English department. Notable moments include the chairman's hiding in the rafters as the faculty vote on his dismissal, his threat of killing a campus pond duck every day until the department receives a budget, flirtations between faculty and students, satires on academic scholarship and stardom, and love and health in the season of grace. It is rumored that the material for this book came from Russo's experiences teaching at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Southern Connecticut State University or at Penn State Altoona.
The straight man is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically, a straight man's response may range from aplomb to outrage, or from patience to frustration, but never laughter, making the partner look all the more ridiculous by being completely serious. The ability to maintain a serious demeanor in the face of even the most preposterous comedy is crucial to a successful straight man.
In Vaudeville, effective straight men were much less common than comedians. The straight man's name usually appeared first and he usually received 60% of the take. This helped take the sting out of not being the laugh-getter and helped ensure the straight man's loyalty to the team. The role is still found today in sitcoms. In the manzai comedy of Japan, the straight man is called tsukkomi.