A straight man is a role in a comedydouble act where a performer works with a comedian by setting up the situations or feeding the lines that allow their partner to make a joke. This usually occurs in the setting of a comedy team. Comedy is the use of humour in the performing arts. ... The double act is a predominantly British institution, a term used for describing the comedic tradition of a pair of performers. ... A joke is a short story or short series of words spoken or communicated with the intent of being laughed at or found humorous by the listener or reader. ...
A woman who plays such a role might wryly be termed a "straight man", but other terms, such as "comic foil" would be more common. A foil character is either one who is in most ways opposite to the main character or nearly the same as the main character. ...
When a woman is in the "straightman" role, she is more often referred to as a comic foil.
Sometimes, it is the straightman who gets the laughs through his or her sarcastic reactions to the comic's antics.
In its British form, the two actors would usually be comprised of a "straightman" or "feed" and a "comic", the purpose of the feed being to set up jokes for the comic.