The phrase "as the setup for" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to indicate that something serves as a preliminary arrangement or introduction for another event or situation.
Example: "The opening scene was crafted as the setup for the thrilling climax that followed."
Alternatives: "as the introduction to" or "as the precursor for".
In this way, the image works as the setup for the caption that functions as the punch line.
If you are a student of 17th-century Spanish theater, you'll recognize the above as the setup for Pedro Calderón de la Barca's classic drama "La Vida Es Sueño," or "Life Is a Dream," which Repertorio Español is presenting.
The merman-like emergence from yet another tub by Jonny Orsini, playing the love interest to Nathan Lane's closeted burlesque actor in "The Nance," seems to exist principally as the setup for a punch line about his natural endowments.
In his own solo Mr. Hersch worked up to a declaratory heat, and then let his forces ebb, tolling a single chord and a sparse bass line as the setup for a drum solo.
The ASL "interpreter" served as the setup for the punchline.
The piece could lose a good 20 minutes, particularly the last 15 (chiefly here, one suspects, as the setup for a delicious Bill Clinton joke); it's when she reaches for Big Truths that the picture grows a little vague.
Research on electronic brainstorming suggests that social loafing is reduced if participants are clearly identifiable as individuals by the use of nicknames or pseudonyms[47], as they were in the setup for social design feedback in this study.
And though arthritis has set in, they still relate to the world as if it were the setup for a slapstick routine — locks refuse to open, a TV (unplugged) goes mysteriously on the fritz.
The setup for the comparison is as follows.
López is perhaps best known for his role as the setup reliever for the Tigers during their 1984 championship season, when he finished with a 10 1 record, 14 saves, and a 2.94 ERA.
The presence of Vazquez allows the Yankees to commit to Hughes or Chamberlain as the setup man for Mariano Rivera, an arrangement that has worked very well.
