They were now mere bystanders in an operation of galactic magnitude.

The doorman, a mere bystander, had been slain also.

"He wasn't a mere bystander," he said.

For now, we seem to be mere bystanders in this evolving drama, the evolution of our planet, our environment.

A third group is also being hurt by the strike - Yale's students - even though they are supposedly mere bystanders.

He did not rule in splendid isolation, nor was he a mere bystander whose advice politicians heeded only as it suited their interests.

The Palestinians, meanwhile, have been reduced to mere bystanders while the Israeli debate continues.

Here we are, the merest bystanders, and we get pulled in, and end up telling lies.

However, we have not been mere bystanders here.

Since the governor had just died, it would be a long while before release, even for mere bystanders.