backcloth

(ˈbækˌklɒθ)

(Theatre) a large painted curtain hanging at the back of a stage set. Also called: backdrop

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

backcloth - scenery hung at back of stage

backdrop, background

scenery, scene - the painted structures of a stage set that are intended to suggest a particular locale; "they worked all night painting the scenery"

Translations

fondale

backcloth

[ˈbækklɒθ] N (Brit) (Theat, also fig) → telón m de fondo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

backcloth

[ˈbækklɒθ] n (British)

(THEATRE) (= backdrop) (to stage) → toile f de fond

(fig) (= background) (to scenery) → toile f de fond
against a backcloth of green hills → sur un fond de collines vertes, avec les collines vertes comme toile de fond

(fig) (to event) against a backcloth of sth [+ strikes, industrial unrest] → dans un climat de qch
The events occurred against a backcloth of industrial unrest in Britain → Les événements ont eu lieu dans un climat d'agitation industrielle en Grande-Bretagne.

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

backcloth

[ˈbækˌklɒθ] n (Brit) (Theatre) → fondale m (fig) → sfondo

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Every day the coast looked the same, as though we had not moved; but we passed various places--trading places--with names like Gran' Bassam Little Popo, names that seemed to belong to some sordid farce acted in front of a sinister backcloth. The idle- ness of a passenger, my isolation amongst all these men with whom I had no point of contact, the oily and lan- guid sea, the uniform somberness of the coast, seemed to keep me away from the truth of things, within the toil of a mournful and senseless delusion.

View in context

There's also a backcloth which is used from time to time to cleverly blend 'live' scenes from the stage with shots of the group's fans from live performances back in the heyday.

Jukebox hits are the stars of this feel-good musical show; REVIEW: Jersey Boys, WMC, Cardiff ?????....

Rome is the backcloth to many of these sonnets, a backcloth which is crimped, pleated, wrinkled and faded with the events of ancient history, but remains perfectly intact in the glow of the present.

NARRATIVE ARC: THE MASTER POET

It's against this backcloth of uncertainty the Lady Black Cats have to spike Spring Series winners Chelsea's guns this evening.

Wear ladies face a tough opener against Chelsea; WOMEN'S FOOTBALL

Andy Street was out to promote the West Midlands Combined Authority and himself on the backcloth of the games.

What part did Mayor play in bid?

It once provided a backcloth to regimental reunion dinners staged at Fallings Park, Wolverhampton, until the late 1990s.

Mystery of missing canvas

This stark divide forms the crucial backcloth against which the Holyrood election campaign will now be fought.

Attitudes have not changed

The stage backcloth featured two "Save Our Steel" banners and Heaton, never afraid to speak his mind, dedicated The Housemartins track The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death to the steelworkers affected by the current crisis.

REVIEW: PAUL HEATON & JACQUI ABBOTT, MIDDLESBROUGH TOWN HALL

If the new centre is to thrive and be a proud addition to the sporting backcloth of Huddersfield, then one and all should be included in its preparation.

WE SAY

A great blank void in the highway, almost graceful As it curved around unkind hills, Rising and falling as silver, spitting and slicing its Way into the distant city of satanic mills, The moon's mesmerising stare over the sleeping Landscape, Dreaming of rebirth, as stars provide a backcloth Of tinted pinpricks in its drape, As if by rote, the land, now breathless, seemingly Iridescent on airborne wings, As veil by veil, nature with humanity held benign, Can once more truly sing.

POEM OF THE DAY

With a simple backcloth doubling up as a film projection screen, a few chairs and charpoys, the simple but powerful staging evokes the heat, the dust and the traditions of a Pakistani village.

Mukhtar Mai incident inspires New York opera

IN a situation where the Free Syrian Army is desperate for more military help and in particular wants a no-fly zone to guarantee its take-over, and against a backcloth of former chemical attacks where UN officials have confirmed that the evidence suggests that attempts have been made to lay the blame upon Assad and deliberately provoke the West, to jump to conclusions over recent alleged events in Damascus is either extraordinarily stupid or is indeed evidence of complicity.

Syria crisis needs caution; letters@coventrytelegraph.net Letters letters@coventrytelegraph.net