From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbe a foil to/for somebody/somethingbe a foil to/for somebody/somethingDIFFERENTto emphasize the good qualities of another person or thing, by being very different from them The simple stone floor is the perfect foil for the brightly coloured furnishings. → foil
Examples from the Corpus
perfect foil• The bright flavor of paprika, in combination with sour cream, is a perfect foil for the succulent meat of rabbit.• His work makes a perfect foil to Brown's insane language games.• The intensely flavored, spicy mole, with chocolate as its base, is the perfect foil for wild turkey.• A simple round neck style with wrist length sleeves it makes the perfect foil for a favourite scarf or piece of jewellery. 