"cliff-hanger"

[Joel S. Berson]

At 1/22/2014 10:41 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>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"?

Perhaps better would be "suspension".  Serves a double purpose.

Joel


>JL
>
>
>On Wed, Jan 22, 2014 at 8:33 AM, W Brewer <brewerwa at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > 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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