cliff-hanger
Narrative tension point
A cliff-hanger is a story or situation that leaves you in suspense, anxiously awaiting the outcome.
The term comes from serialized fiction where episodes would end with a character literally hanging from a cliff—or in comparable peril.
Now it describes any narrative that breaks off at a moment of high tension: The season finale was a real cliff-hanger.
By extension, any contest or situation with an uncertain outcome qualifies: The election was a cliff-hanger that wasn't decided until the last precinct reported.
Also spelled cliffhanger.
Stretched or strained state
- nail-bitingExtremely tense or anxious
- edge-of-seatIntensely suspenseful experience
- anticipationState of awaiting something
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
anxiety · thrill · intrigue · mystery · enigma · teaser · stalemate · standoff
Suspense-driven narrative genre
- whodunitCrime fiction identifying perpetrator
- detectiveProfessional crime investigator
- mysterySomething unexplained or unknown
- noirHard-boiled film genre
spy · espionage · crime · adventure · action · psychological · conspiracy · page-turner
Exposure to harm
- precipiceSteep rock face
- brinkCritical boundary point
- abyssImmeasurably profound depth
- jeopardyRisk of harm
risk · hazard · life-threatening · treacherous · ledge · fatal · catastrophe · disaster
Point of greatest intensity
- finaleConcluding part of performance
- storylineSequence of fictional events
- arcCurved line segment
- denouementStory's final unraveling
episode · serial · installment · chapter · ending · revelation · resolution · setup
tension
Stretched or strained state
- nail-bitingExtremely tense or anxious
- edge-of-seatIntensely suspenseful experience
- anticipationState of awaiting something
uncertainty · anxiety · thrill · intrigue · mystery · enigma · teaser · stalemate · standoff · limbo
thriller
Suspense-driven narrative genre
- whodunitCrime fiction identifying perpetrator
- detectiveProfessional crime investigator
- mysterySomething unexplained or unknown
noir · spy · espionage · crime · adventure · action · psychological · conspiracy · page-turner · potboiler
danger
Exposure to harm
jeopardy · risk · hazard · life-threatening · treacherous · ledge · fatal · catastrophe · disaster · precarious
climax
Point of greatest intensity
denouement · episode · serial · installment · chapter · ending · revelation · resolution · setup · payoff
recount
Narrate or retally
- marginEdge of a page
- undecidedNot having chosen
- battlegroundLocation of armed combat
- narrow marginsphoto finish, squeaker, razor thin, neck and neck, by a hair
- Primetime SoapsDallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest, J.R. Ewing, melodrama
cliff-hangeryawner
Boring thing or person
bore · dud · foregone conclusion · snoozefest · snooze
cliff-hangerclosure
Sense of emotional resolution
denouement · resolution · happily ever after · clean finish · happy ending