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cliffhanger

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

See also: cliff-hanger and cliff hanger

English

Alternative forms

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 serialised 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.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˌklɪfˈhæŋ.ə(ɹ)/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

cliffhanger (plural cliffhangers)

  1. (narratology) An ending or stopping point calculated to leave a story unresolved, in order to create suspense.
    • 2007 July 2, Hilary Hylton, “Filming Texas in a Good Light”, in Time‎, archived from the original on 15 March 2009:
      Back in the early 80s, the hit series Dallas kept the nation guessing with its season-ending cliffhanger "Who Shot J.R.?"
  2. (by extension) 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.
    • February 28 2008, Timothy Garton Ash, “Russia has run rings round the west”, in Guardian‎, 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?

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