Cliffhanger (ride)
WordNet
noun
(1) An episode that ends in suspense
(2) A contest whose outcome is uncertain up to the very end
WiktionaryText
Etymology
From cliff + hang + -er, evoking the image of someone left hanging from a cliff, thereby having an uncertain fate.
Noun
- An ending or stopping point calculated to leave a story unresolved, in order to create suspense.
- 1939, "Theater gossip," The Independent (St. Petersbury, Florida), 28 Oct. (retrieved 2 Feb. 2009):
- Once upon a time the movie mecca teamed with redskins, and all of them made good livings in the many "horse operas" and "cliff hanger" serials of the industry's beginning.
- 2007, Hilary Hylton, "Filming Texas in a Good Light," Time, 2 Jul.:
- Back in the early 80s, the hit series Dallas kept the nation guessing with its season-ending cliffhanger "Who Shot J.R.?"
- 1939, "Theater gossip," The Independent (St. Petersbury, Florida), 28 Oct. (retrieved 2 Feb. 2009):
- An outcome which is awaited with keen anticipation, especially one which is delayed for a period of time or which is not known until the last minute.
- 2008, Timothy Garton Ash, "Russia has run rings round the west," Guardian (UK), 28 Feb. (retrieved 2 Feb. 2009):
- This presidential election is such a cliffhanger. Will it be the rising star Dmitry "Obamovich" Medvedev? Or the veteran Gennady "McCainovich" Zyuganov?
- 2008, Timothy Garton Ash, "Russia has run rings round the west," Guardian (UK), 28 Feb. (retrieved 2 Feb. 2009):