The AI-powered English dictionary
plural cliffhangers
(narratology) An ending or stopping point calculated to leave a story unresolved, in order to create suspense. quotations
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 March 2009
(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. quotations examples
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 2 Feb. 2009