cliffhanger
/ˌklɪfˈhæŋ.ə(ɹ)/
cliffhanger · noun — an ending or stopping point calculated to leave a story unresolved, in order to create suspense. It carries an Arena rating of 1531, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, cliffhanger ranks #28 of 17,188 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #99 of 17,197 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #738 of 17,167 for Most Vivid Words, #1,109 of 17,187 for Most Malleable Words.
cliffhanger is pronounced /ˌklɪfˈhæŋ.ə(ɹ)/.
Why “cliffhanger” is a great word
A plot device or story ending that creates suspense by leaving a central conflict dramatically unresolved. From the English words 'cliff' (a steep rock face) and 'hanger' (one that hangs), evoking the image of a person left dangling from a cliff, thereby having an uncertain fate; the term is considered to have originated with the serialized version of Thomas Hardy's 'A Pair of Blue Eyes' in the 1870s. Unlike an anticlimax, which deflates tension with a disappointing end, or a denouement, which ties every strand into a satisfying knot, the cliffhanger is a deliberate act of narrative rupture. It is the heroine frozen mid-fall, the safe-cracker’s ear pressed to the dial as the police batter down the door, the hero’s whispered word swallowed by static as the transmission cuts—a calculated betrayal of the promised end, leaving the audience suspended in the exquisite agony of the unfinished.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From cliff + hanger, evoking the image of someone left hanging from a cliff, thereby having an uncertain fate. The term cliffhanger is considered to have originated with the serialized version of Thomas Hardy's A Pair of Blue Eyes, published in Tinsley's Magazine in the 1870s, in which the character Henry Knight is left hanging off of a cliff. It was inspired by a real life story from his wife Emma's childhood, when she had to rescue one of her school friends from a similar position.
noun
- An ending or stopping point calculated to leave a story unresolved, in order to create suspense.e.g.“Back in the early 80s, the hit series Dallas kept the nation guessing with its season-ending cliffhanger "Who Shot J.R.?"” — 2007 July 2, Hilary Hylton, “Filming Texas in a Good Light”, in Time, archived from the original on 15 Mar 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.e.g.“This presidential election is such a cliffhanger. Will it be the rising star Dmitry "Obamovich" Medvedev? Or the veteran Gennady "McCainovich" Zyuganov?” — February 28 2008, Timothy Garton Ash, “Russia has run rings round the west”, in Guardian, retrieved 02 Feb 2009:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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