cliffhanger
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cliffhanger
- /ˌklɪfˈhæŋ.ə(ɹ)/ UK
Where it comes from
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 cliffhangers · cliff hanger · cliff-hanger
-
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.?"
Opposite: anticlimax
- 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?
Translations
Every language
noun (narratology) an ending or stopping point
| Español | final en vilo |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | クリフハンガー kurifuhangā |
| Português | gancho, suspense |
| Français | cliffhanger |
| Deutsch | offenes Ende |
| Русский | клиффхэ́нгер kliffxɛ́nger |
| العربية | نِهَايَة مُشَوِّقَة, تَشْوِيق tašwīq |
| עברית | קליף האנגר klif hanger |
noun outcome awaited with keen anticipation
| 한국어 | 클리프행어 keullipeuhaeng'eo |
|---|
Talk about this word "cliffhanger." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cliffhanger. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. cliffhanger. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cliffhanger "cliffhanger." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cliffhanger.Cite this
@misc{cliffhanger_2026,
title = {cliffhanger},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cliffhanger},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
