To occupy an inferior position; to sink into obscurity.
a. 1863. I tell you those able-bodied men who are sleeping in feather beds to-night, while we are standing here in the rain to guard their precious carcasses, must be content to take back seats when we get home.—‘Southern Hist. Soc. Papers,’ ix. 133 (Richmond, Va.).
1907. That extraordinary view will now be relegated to a back seat (!).—Living Church (Chicago), Nov. 2.
