He showed some 'backbone' by refusing to compromise his values.
She is the 'backbone' of the family.
(..) You gotta hand over your guns. We only have two. Okay. Follow me. Before we go in, you have a brain and a backbone, so I'm talking to you, not Gregory. Whatever you're trying to start here, another protection pact, a trade, none of it matters if we don't start dealing with the real problem... (..)2017 TvShow: The Walking Dead Title: Rock in the Road Season: 7 Episode 9