set the scene for
Also, set the stage for. Provide the underlying basis or background for, make likely or inevitable, as in Their fights about money set the scene for a divorce, or The comptroller's assessment of the firm's finances set the stage for a successful bond issue. These expressions allude to arranging a play's actors and properties on a theatrical stage. The first term dates from the late 1700s, the variant from the late 1800s.
Words nearby set the scene for
set square,
set store by,
set straight,
set the pace,
set the record straight,
set the scene for,
set the table,
set the wheels in motion,
set the world on fire,
set theory,
set to