FreeScrabbleDictionary

cliffhanger

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
23
Words With Friends
26
Letters
11
Pronunciation
/ˌklɪfˈhæŋ.ə(ɹ)/ (UK)

Definition of cliffhanger

2 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

noun

  1. 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.?"”
See all 2 definitions

noun

  1. 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.?"”
  2. (broadly)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?”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

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 serialised…

See full etymology

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 serialised 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.

Words you can make from cliffhanger

200+ playable · top: CHAFFERING (22 pts)

Best play chaffering 22 points

8-letter words

16 words

7-letter words

50 words

6-letter words

92 words

5-letter words

41 words

Hooks

1 extension · 1 back

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