The term can apply to women, but 'comedic foil' is a more popular unisex term. Note: A person does not need to be straight or a man to be this trope. If the Straight Man is the lead in an ensemble or a show with a large cast, this can lead to them being overshadowed by the rest of the cast because they spend their time and effort setting up the rest of the cast instead of themselves (see also Standardized Leader). In less-comedic works, the Straight Man is a Foil for the Bunny-Ears Lawyer, Magnificent Bastard, Large Ham or Loveable Rogue. (This is essentially the basis of Bob Newhart's 'telephone' routines: he was playing the Straight Man to nothing.) Other straight men in comedy duos have included George Burns (with Gracie Allen), Dean Martin (with Jerry Lewis), and Dan Rowan (with Dick Martin of Laugh-In). The best Straight Men are so good they can sometimes get laughs just by delivering a straight line so well the audience knows what's coming. Bud Abbott (widely considered the greatest Straight Man of all time) had to say, ' Who's on First,' with just the right degree of earnestness and irritation so that Lou Costello could get big laughs saying 'Whaddya askin' me for?' He rarely gets the funny lines, but has to have impeccable timing and delivery so that the comic (the other half of a comedy duo) can hit it out of the park.

Somebody has to set up the joke so the funny guy can deliver the punchline.

Straight man novel