VOOZH about

URL: https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/foil.3048991/

⇱ foil | WordReference Forums

Menu
Install the app
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.

foil

It means a person who is a contrast to another, often in a way that balances the other.

Here is our dictionary definition for this meaning of foil:

a person or thing that gives contrast to another
Thanks, so in this case, Hamilton Burger is Mason's foil and that means that they had opposite views?
Perry Mason was a defense attorney. He worked to prove the innocence of his clients. Hamilton Burger was the prosecuting attorney. He worked for the state to prove the guilt of the accused. They were on opposite sides of each case, but Mr. Burger was interested in catching the actual criminal more than he was in just winning a case.
Although that's true of their relationship in the TV series (and I presume in the books), opposite views are not a necessary part of being a 'foil'. The foil makes something else stand out. The original meaning is the thin metal foil on the back of a jewel, to make the jewel shine brighter. You can be a foil to someone else by doing things in a different way, but you don't have to oppose the other person the way the two lawyers did.
Yes, a foil can be a sidekick or a straight man, someone who highlights the other person in the pair by taking a subservient or supporting role.
Back
Top Bottom