set the stage
verb1
Idiomatic To prepare; to establish the basis or required conditions.
- Pardew was a member of the Palace side that lost in a replay to United at Wembley in 1990 and was in charge of West Ham when they were hit by Steven Gerrard's famous late equaliser in Cardiff that set the stage for Liverpool to beat the Hammers on penalties after a 3-3 draw.2016 May 22, Phil McNulty, “Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United”, in BBC:
- White House policies—on taxing and spending, trade and regulation—will set the stage for recovery.2008 March 20, Kristina Dell, “A Voter's Guide to the Economy”, in Time:
2
Idiomatic To provide introductory context.
- There is clearly more to the quote than what you've cited here. Otherwise, how would you be able to claim it has anything to do with Pesach in the first place? Obviously there's something that comes before what you've quoted, which sets the stage.2006 April 28, Steve Goldfarb, “Spilling out drops of wine at the Seder”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):
- Synonyms
- grease the wheels, pave the way
- Related terms
- stage set