"cliff-hanger"

[Jonathan Lighter]

OED: "A serial film in which each episode ends in a desperate situation;
hence, any story, play, etc., in which suspense is a main concern."

Shd. be tweaked to include "an episode which ends at a moment of crucial
suspense that is expected to be resolved in a following episode." That
would cover the season finale of _Sleepy Hollow_, in which...oh, never mind.

To say only that "suspense is a main concern" misses the point. Suspense is
a "main concern" of, say, _The Haunting_ and _Gaslight_, but would anyone
characterize them as "cliffhangers"?

JL


On Wed, Jan 22, 2014 at 8:33 AM, W Brewer <brewerwa at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       W Brewer <brewerwa at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "cliff-hanger"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> The cliffhanger that ain't a cliffhanger. Sly turns the <cliffhanger> on
> its head.
> One score & 4 months ago . . . <<Cliffhanger>> (1993) starring Sylvester
> Stallone.
> <<A botched mid-air heist results in suitcases full of cash being searched
> for by various groups throughout the Rocky Mountains.>>
> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106582/
> (For reference only. Ain't seen it; ain't gonna. Don't cotton to draft
> dodgers.)
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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