Dictionary

cliffhanger en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˌklɪfˈhæŋ.ə(ɹ)/ (UK)

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.

Meanings

1. An ending or stopping point calculated to leave a story unresolved, in order to create suspense.
   • 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:
2. (broadly) 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.
   • 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:

Forms

Antonyms

anticlimax

Deriveds

cliffhang

Relateds

cliffhanging

Translations (26)

ca final de suspens ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · ar تَشْوِيق ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · ms babak tergantung ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · es final en vilo ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · pl zawieszenie akcji ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · ko 클리프행어 (outcome awaited with keen anticipation) · uk кліфге́нґер ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · cy cyfres iasol ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · pt suspense ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · fi juonen jättäminen jännittävään kohtaan ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · ca final penjat ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · uk кліфге́нгер ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · he קליף האנגר ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · fa پایان نفسگیر ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · fr cliffhanger ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · de offenes Ende ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · fi cliffhanger ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · pl cliffhanger ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · pt gancho ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · ar نِهَايَة مُشَوِّقَة ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · tl pabitin ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · cy clo crog ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · ru клиффхэ́нгер ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · pl cliffhanger (outcome awaited with keen anticipation) · ja クリフハンガー ((narratology) an ending or stopping point) · ca deixada en suspens ((narratology) an ending or stopping point)

wikipedia: William Tinsley (publisher) · wikipedia: Thomas Hardy · wikipedia: A Pair of Blue Eyes