second best

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

second best
    n 1: the competitor who finishes second [syn: {runner-up},
         {second best}]

from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

32 Moby Thesaurus words for "second best":
      Mickey Mouse, base, cheap, cheesy, coarse, common, disappointing,
      falling short, fourth-class, inferior, irregular, low class,
      low quality, low-class, low-grade, low-quality, low-test, mean,
      paltry, poor, punk, second best, second-class, seedy, shabby,
      tacky, tantalizing, teasing, third-class, third-rate, tinny,
      unsatisfactory