This was the evening's most intense and varied struggle between illumination and shadow: by the end, the dancers were reduced to mere silhouettes against the now-white background; earlier, their pale constumes made them stand out against the gloom in exactly the opposite way.

But over the years, other images - sometimes even their mere silhouettes - have come to say "New York City" far more effectively: The lady at right.

The photo was in black and white, grainy; the people in the foreground were almost washed out by a poorly used flash while the people in the near background were mere silhouettes.

The four police officers, mere silhouettes to the public since they shot and killed Mr. Diallo on Feb. 4, emerged from their arraignment to declare their innocence and bask in the embrace of supporters.

The tall cypress trees were mere silhouettes, their moss-clad limbs barely visible against the starlit sky.

Even so I did not recognize his back; like me, he nearly filled the passage with his head within two inches of the roof, so his figure was a mere black silhouette between me and the light.

The guns of the second rank of harquebusiers roared and the sinha became mere silhouettes.

The passage was comparatively long and dark, so each man could see the other as a mere black silhouette at the other end.

We can not perceive the pattern as it truly is; we are as it were seeing a mere silhouette.

A mere silhouette against the fluorescent glare, Vanadium stepped it the hall.