It had always been a mere backdrop to conversation, anyway, as neither was a skilled player.

But food at the Bottega del Vino is a mere backdrop.

For most spectators, the racing is a mere backdrop for a picnic, the visual equivalent of elevator music.

No one was disappointed to find that the food was mere backdrop for an evening that stretched deep into the indigo night.

Natural scenes became the subjects of their paintings rather than mere backdrops to dramatic events.

As the music powered into focus, it suddenly seemed much more than a mere backdrop for Morrissey's lyrical diatribes.

Everything else seemed a hazy fantasy, a mere backdrop.

Grimes does not use Tanzania as a mere backdrop for storytelling; the land's geography and culture give breath to every line.

Especially to be praised is Blish's picture of a civilized galaxy; he makes it a complex changing environment not a mere gaudy backdrop.

The landscape is a not a mere backdrop, but forms a notable contribution to early landscape painting.